In Love and War
by legionaireofthe10th
Summary: Ash Ketchum is the new Indigo League Champion and is about to challenge for the title of Pokemon Master when the Pokemon World comes under attack. A war with Teams Rocket, Aqua, Magma and Galactic plunges Ash and his friends into a conflict that they do not wish to fight but must in order to preserve everything they hold dear. They must deal with treachery, death and love. PS CS IS
1. Born to be a winner

**AUTHOR's NOTE**

Hello readers! Welcome to my first ever Fanfic, but do not fear I am confident that it is going to be a good and a long one (like this note, sorry)! I am an old school Pokemon lover, I'm talking 90's here people, so the glory days of Ash, Misty and Brock are about to be rekindled! Here is a little summary of what you can expect…

Ash Ketchum has become the Indigo League Champion and is now eligible to try and attain the title of Master. However before he gets a chance to do so the Pokemon World is rocked by the biggest disaster it has ever experienced. Teams Rocket, Aqua, Magma and Galactic, who were thought by all to have been disbanded, have formed a deadly alliance and launched a massive surprise invasion of the Pokemon Regions. Caught completely by surprise the Pokemon League must enter a war it is not prepared for in order to defend what is left of the free world. Ash and his friends are caught up in the conflict that brings a whole new meaning to 'Pokemon Battles'. Thrown into the heart of the war, they must deal with death, treachery and a whirlwind of both new and old emotions!

Before I begin I should lay down a few facts. I have never watched any of the Best Wishes series so Iris and Cilan will not appear in this story, my apologies to those who are fans of them. As a consequence, in this story Ash has spent a year re-travelling Kanto after he has finished the Sinnoh League. I have tried to construct a realistic timeline for the aging of the characters before this story takes place, which you can see below, however it is likely to contain a few inconsistencies so I apologise in advance for any errors.

Finally, I have been preparing this story for a long time now so I hope it is accurate, interesting and exciting. I have read many amazing fanfics, however those of _AngelicFairy, Texas Longhorn _and _licoricejellybean _have been particularly outstanding and inspired me to write one of my own, so if any of you guys read this story it would make me very happy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, if I did Ash would be a Pokemon Master by now!

Brief timeline

Kanto – 1 and a half years

Orange Islands – half a year

Johto 3 – 1 year

Hoen 4 – 1 year

Kanto (battle frontier) – 1 year

Sinnoh – 1 year

Extra year around Kanto – 1 year

Total = 7 years

Ages

Ash – 18

Misty – 19

Brock – 23

May – 17

Drew – 17

Gary – 18

Dawn – 16

Paul – 19

Ritchie – 18

Melody – 18

**IN LOVE AND WAR**

**Chapter 1: Born to be a Winner **

Don't think, just act. Sense what is going to happen. Use your feelings, your experience, your instincts, like you always have, and there isn't a force in this world that can stop you.

The corners of the trainer's mouth twitched fractionally upwards into a shadow of a smile as the inspiring lines flowed through his mind. It was a phrase he had memorised right from the very first day he had become a Pokemon Trainer and he often used it to spur him through difficult battles and impossible odds, and if there ever was a time he needed to hear those words, it was now.

Sucking in a deep breath of cool air to compose himself, he hastily observed the devastation that lay before him. The immense battlefield that had been immaculately prepared only an hour before now lay in ruins, the effects of numerous attacks scarring its sandy surface as if it were made of butter. However, the vast pitch was not the only casualty of the brutal conflict that had been raging constantly for the past sixty minutes. Five blackened out images below his smiling face on the huge display screen opposite painfully reminded him of his current situation. It had been worth it though, he conceded to himself, as the five dark boxes were mirrored exactly on the other side of the screen below another grinning portrait.

"Wow folks, what a match! With both Trainers down to one Pokemon each, things could go either way!"

The loud metallic voice of the commentator shocked him out of his thoughts and brought his attention back to the matter in hand. Once again his eyes scanned the battlefield, taking in every minuscule detail and factor that he might use to his advantage. Finally he let his gaze slowly come to rest on the one being that at that moment was the most important thing in the world to him.

The small yellow mouse was breathing hard, gulping in great amounts of oxygen as it struggled to regain its breath after the exertions of its previous attack. Its jagged tail glowed brightly and then began to dim as the Iron Tail attack completed itself. He could not be more proud of his little electric Pokemon; it had always performed to the best of its abilities and today was no exception. Yet despite its exceptional efforts and tremendous power he could tell that his friend was struggling and if things didn't end soon then it was sure to succumb to exhaustion.

A movement from the other side of the field caught his eye and he flicked his gaze over to the disturbance. Letting out a deep roar of defiance a Venusaur slowly rose to its feet, causing the ground to shake violently and ripples to form in the sand as it shifted its immense weight. He gritted his teeth and frowned at the sight, frustrated that the giant creature still remained standing after all this time. The grass-type was obviously extremely powerful; it had defeated his last two pokemon and was now threatening a third victory; however his mood lightened a little as he noted its sluggish movements, indicating that it too was near exhaustion.

"Venusaur, use Razor Leaf, now!" The piercing shout came from across the large expanse of the field where his opponent stood defiantly. Upon seeing that his Pokemon had recovered from the Iron Tail attack, which had driven it to the ground moments before, the other trainer launched himself onto the offensive, grinning savagely as he ordered the command.

"Saurrr!" The huge grass-type growled as it arched its back and sent dozens of deadly sharp spinning leaves towards its small opponent.

"Quick Pikachu, use Agility to dodge them." He rapidly hollered the instruction to the electric-type as the twirling green objects flashed towards it.

"Pika!" With a small cry the little mouse crouched down onto all four paws and launched itself into a high-speed blur, vanishing seconds before the leaves ripped into the spot it had been standing on. However that was not the end of the attack as leaves continued to follow the electric-type across the entire field, smashing into the ground with the force of bullets.

He grimaced slightly at the turn of events. Although Pikachu was easily avoiding the barrage with its lightning speed, he knew that the Pokemon could not evade the missiles forever as it would soon start to tire further. In contrast, his opponent's Pokemon was barely breaking a sweat as it casually adjusted its body to aim at the yellow mouse.

He closed his eyes tightly in order to concentrate and began desperately racking his brain for a solution to his urgent predicament. Suddenly he had a burst of inspiration as a daring concept leapt to the front of his mind. It was a risky plan that may not work and instead backfire on him, but that had never stopped him in the past.

"Pikachu, stop and use Thundershock on the Razor Leaves." He bellowed the command across the field so that the ever-moving Pokemon would hear it. Sure enough the small electric-type pulled up out of its Agility and turned to face its attacker. Its small red cheeks sparked wildly for a second and before the Venusaur could alter its aim, Pikachu unleashed its attack.

"Piiiikachuuuuu," the mouse cried as it sent multiple bolts of bright electricity surging towards the incoming projectiles. The two forces collided with a thunderous crack, creating dozens of tiny explosions as the electric currents caused the leaves to burst spectacularly into flames.

The effect was exactly what he had been hoping for. The leaves were no longer a wave of viciously sharp missiles and instead fell directly down to the ground as if the heavens were raining fire. From across the field the giant grass-type cried out in pain as the blazing remnants of its own attack cascaded from the sky and agonisingly scorched its skin. Being weak to fire attacks, the monster began to charge about in a terrified frenzy as it tried in vain to escape the burning downpour.

Sensing his opportunity to strike he called to his Pokemon once more. "Ok Pikachu, it's time to finish this, use Thunder and give it everything you've got." Obedient as ever the electric type darted towards its opponent and after a few large bounds, it launched itself high into the air where it could direct its attack more effectively.

With a horrified expression his opponent turned to his own Pokemon and in a desperate bid to save the situation screamed. "Venusaur use Solar Beam quickly." The grass Pokemon, who was still reeling from the burns it had sustained, slowly heaved its body into position and opened up the six massive pink petals on its back in order to absorb the sun's light. Rays were hastily sucked into it, creating a gleaming ball of energy that began to grow in size as it powered up for the attack.

From high in the sky Pikachu let loose its terrifying electric attack. For a brief moment the battlefield was blinded with light as the crackling bolts of lighting flashed towards the ground. At the same time Venusaur fired its fully charged Solar Beam, the dazzling white energy shooting out as if it were projected from a cannon. There was an ear splitting boom as the two attacks collided with each other and produced a tremendous explosion that rocked the ground like an earthquake and created a shockwave that sent debris flying like shrapnel.

He just had time to shut his eyes as the sand engulfed him in a cloud of swirling angry grains that lashed his face and forced itself into his mouth. The strength of the shockwave ripped the age-old Pokemon League hat from his head and threw it into the raging dust cloud. He clutched at his now-exposed hair in protest, yet his mind remained focused, ready to react to any event that would emerge from the storm that was suffocating him.

Only when it was half safe to do so he whipped open his eyes, ignoring the sting of the sand, and quickly blinked away the tears that formed in order to see what was in front of him. His iron concentration slipped for a second as he allowed himself a tiny smile at the scene slowly emerging from the dust. The small yellow electric Pokemon that he had known for so long was poised on all fours only a few meters ahead of him, its cheeks sparking wildly, evidence of the attack it had just unleashed. However more importantly, across the large stretch of the battlefield lay the Venusaur, its chest rising and falling rapidly with exhaustion and its eyes shut due to unconsciousness.

"Venusaur is unable to battle!" a match official shouted from the sideline, whilst holding up a green flag in his direction, "The match goes to the green trainer from Pallet Town."

For a minute there was silence; complete and utter deafening silence as the last of the sand settled back to the ground. Then as the realisation of what had just happened slammed into him, he broke his concentration and allowed himself a small grin that quickly morphed into an ecstatic smile. Finally as joy overcame all other emotions and senses he punched the air in victory and bellowed out a loud cry of triumph. In a wave of sound the call was taken up by a hundred thousand other voices as they too celebrated his achievement.

For the first time after beginning the match, the trainer tore his gaze from the battlefield and looked up into the numerous tiers of the vast bowl-like stadium that surrounded him. It was filled to capacity with Pokemon lovers from all across the world, who were now standing on their feet, screaming his name and offering a standing ovation.

In response he slowly rotated round in a full circle, holding out one arm and saluting them with his trademark victory sign. They roared their approval even louder at this. He had won a huge following over the past two weeks of battles and now it felt as if every person in the world was behind him.

"Pikapi!" The high-pitched chirp caused him to twirl back around to the pitch. He just had time to open his arms as Pikachu propelled itself off the ground and towards his body as it too joined in the celebrations.

"Pi-Pikachu!" It squealed happily once it was secure in its master's arms. To emphasise its point, it nimbly sprang onto the boy's shoulder and rubbed his cheek with its own.

The trainer laughed cheerfully at his friend's actions before replying, "Yes Pikachu, we did it, we finally did it!"

Their conversation was cut off as the booming sound of the commentators voice came once more from the speakers. "Wow, what a finale! That had to be one of the most amazing battles I have ever seen. Unfortunately there can only be one winner, but what a winner we have! Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you your new Indigo League Champion, ASH KETCHUM!"

* * *

For 18-year-old Ash Ketchum the stairway up to the Pokemon League torch was a climb he wanted to last forever. After briefly shaking hands and offering his condolences to his defeated opponent, the young trainer from Pallet Town retrieved his fallen hat. After placing it back on top of his messy black hair he began the walk up to official League balcony that was set high in the stadium and was where Mr Goodshow awaited with the Indigo League trophy.

Despite his euphoric mood, he couldn't help but be slightly intimidated as he made his way through the crowded rows of seats. He constantly had to blink as hundreds of camera flashes blinded him and was forced to stop after every step to shake a hand or sign a bit of paper that was thrust upon him by the crowd that was barely restrained by stewards on either side. To make things worse, he was all too aware that his every action was being recorded and not only being displayed on the large screen in the stadium but also to millions of people on international TV.

Finally he reached his destination atop the League balcony, which provided a commanding view of the entire Indigo stadium. He paused slightly in awe as he gazed up at the flame of Moltres that burned wildly as if it too were cheering him on. Even as he gazed into the flames that were a symbol of triumph themselves, he still couldn't quite believe that he was actually the League Champion.

"Congratulations Ash." A gentle but firm voice sounded to his right. Shaking his head and breaking away from the captivating flame, Ash turned slowly to see two figures standing at one end of the platform. The first was a short man, who despite his grey beard and wrinkled face emitted a pleasant air about him as he smiled excitedly. The second was also a man, but was at least 30 years junior to his partner. His brilliant red hair stood up on end to give the appearance of fire and from his shoulders hung a jet-black cape that lightly brushed the floor. Even if he had not had these imposing qualities, his entire demeanour radiated power, instantly earning him authority and respect.

"Thanks Mr Goodshow." His reply was directed at the first man, as it was he who had spoken, "I still can't quite believe I'm the Champion." The raven-haired trainer grinned sheepishly as he spoke, the roar from the crowd half drowning out his words.

The president of the Pokemon League chuckled at the boy's words before speaking. "Ash, when I first met you over seven years ago, I knew that one day you would stand where you are now. In fairness I didn't think it would be quite so soon, but you'd better get used to the fact that you're number one."

"Yes Ash, you're an extremely powerful trainer, it's no surprise to me either that you're the victor today." This line came from the second man, who as he spoke, stepped forward and extended his hand.

Ash grasped it and nodded in gratitude before muttering, "Thanks Lance."

"Right then," Mr Goodshow interrupted, "Let's crown our Champion." The old man quickly stepped to one side revealing a small table with a shining gold medal lying on it. However it was eclipsed by a large silver trophy that stood proudly next to it. Ash smiled when he saw that his name had already been engraved into its sparkling surface alongside those of previous champions.

In one fluid move Mr Goodshow scooped up the medal and swiftly placed it over the trainer's head, standing on tiptoes in order to reach. He then spun back around and with great delicacy lifted the precious trophy. He did not immediately present it to Ash, but instead turned to face the crowd who automatically fell silent for him. Obviously the president had a microphone hidden upon him as his voice boomed out and echoed throughout the stadium. "People of the Pokemon world, I officially declare Ash Ketchum the new Indigo League Champion."

Fireworks exploded from somewhere within the stands as Ash was handed the trophy. Thousands of voices roared his name as he thrust his prize above his head and in turn shouted with joy. For ten minutes he laughed and waved at the fans as he enjoyed the colourful display that thundered above his head.

When the last bang had died away Lance stepped up beside him and faced the audience as he waited to speak. "Ladies and Gentlemen," he began in his cool, collected voice. The dragon master did not shout nor raise his voice, but the command he carried in his tone was enough to silence the screaming fans. "As the leader of the Kanto Elite Four it is my duty to invite the new Champion to honour us with battle. If he were to emerge victorious against all four members he would be the very best trainer in Kanto and earn the title of Pokemon Master." Here he paused and turned slowly to face the young trainer beside him. "Ash Ketchum of Pallet town, do you accept my challenge and the challenge of my colleagues?"

After a fraction of a second's hesitation Ash broke into his usual overconfident grin and staring Lance in the eye answered simply, "I do."

The crowd erupted again at the confirmation and this time Lance did have to raise his voice to be heard "Excellent," was the Elite Four member's response, "Your matches will be arranged within a week, for now please follow me." On cue a large panel in the wall on the other side of the balcony hissed open, revealing a passageway that led gently downwards. Without another word or a second glance Lance marched into it and with one last wave to the crowd, Ash followed clutching his trophy tightly in one hand.

The pair strolled hastily down the enclosed corridor, their footsteps echoing sharply in the confined space. For a while the silence that had suddenly fallen after the racket of the stadium, remained complete, both trainers busy with their own thoughts. However as the floor began to level out Lance turned his head to the other boy

"Did you know, Ash, that in Kanto a trainer hasn't been awarded the title of Master in 15 years." It was more a statement than a question and although the voice still carried authority, it now included the friendly tone that scarlet-haired trainer had used when they had previously met in Johto and Hoenn.

Ash looked quizzically at the more experienced trainer before replying, "So you're saying that no Champion has beaten the entire Elite Four in all of that time." When his companion nodded the raven-haired trainer added, "So who was the last person to do it?"

"You're walking alongside them," The Dragon Master chuckled at his own response and flashed a smile at Ash.

The younger boy grinned back before fixing a look of determination on his face. "Well I'm going to be the next to do it and place my name in the hall of fame along side yours!"

"Pikachu." From atop its position on Ash's shoulder the small yellow rodent chirped its support at its trainer's statement, the red cheeks on its face sparking with excitement.

Lance laughed light heartedly at the expression on the faces of both Pokemon and trainer alike. "I'm certain you two will give the other masters and myself a run for our money, but just because we are friends don't think I'll go easy on you!" The conversation was cut off as they reached a large metal door at the end of the passageway. From seemingly nowhere, the Elite Four leader produced a small key, which he swiftly inserted into the lock and with heavy expectation, swung it open.

The first thing that hit Ash was the grandeur of the room that now faced him, blowing his previous thoughts away like a Whirlwind attack. The second thing that hit him was his mother!

As soon as her son stepped into the room, Delia Ketchum enveloped him in a tight bear hug that only a mother could produce. When she was certain that he was secure in her grip she spoke into his ear with her sweet and gentle voice, "Oh Ash honey, I am so happy for you; my little Champion." Despite her reference to his size Ash towered at least a head taller than his possessive parent, however what the woman lacked in height she made up in strength as she slowly cut of his oxygen supply.

"Thanks mum, I'm pretty pleased too." The trainer gasped with what little breath he could muster, wincing slightly as the action caused his ribs to ache. Mrs Ketchum glanced up at his strangled reply, concern appearing on her face as she noticed his pained expression.

"Oh my," she exclaimed, "you didn't get hurt during the battle did you, that last explosion looked pretty-"

"Mum I'm fine!" He spluttered, cutting her off in mid sentence.

"Well if you're sure, pumpkin?"

"I'm sure!"

With that she daintily stepped back and reluctantly let go of her son, her chocolate brown eyes, the most evident feature that she shared with the boy, shining with affection and pride. Ash on the other hand stumbled backwards with a lot less grace and after placing his trophy on a small table next to him, bent over with his hands on his knees as he tried to regain control of his lungs. Unfortunately before he could take more than a few breaths he was roughly tackled a second time, this time by two figures that trapped him in a vice-like squeeze.

"Congratulations Ash!" two high-pitched female voices squealed simultaneously with such volume that it felt as if both of his eardrums burst. Glancing down he saw two girls, who were both a little younger than him, latched onto each of his arms.

The girl on his right was slightly shorter than him, with shoulder length mousy brown hair and large sky blue eyes. Her most defining feature however, was the large red bandana she supported on her head that prevented her brown locks falling into her eyes.

In contrast, the girl to his left wore a fluffy white hat that covered most of her head. However what could be seen of her long royal blue hair, matched exactly the colour of her eyes.

As May Maple and Dawn Berlitz released him from their grips, Ash took a step back and stared at his two good friends fondly. Despite having never travelled together, the two girls had formed a formidable friendship and during the two weeks of the tournament they had rarely been seen apart. The trainer, still trying to recover his breath, was about to thank the pair, but stopped short when another figure began to bear down upon him.

"Please not another hug!" Ash practically shouted in protest, shutting his eyes as he prepared to be crushed once more. Instead there came a small chuckle and a hand clapped down on his shoulder, causing him to look back up. He was met with the familiar sight of the slightly tanned skin and spiky brown hair of his best friend Brock Harrison.

The twenty-three year old beamed back at him with his usual broad grin and squinty eyes. Despite the age difference, Ash had finally caught up with the older boy's height so that they eyes were now on a par.

"Relax Ash," The Pokemon breeder said in a casual manner, "you'll have to make do with a hand shake from me." With these words Brock extended his hand, which Ash took in a firm grasp and pumped it up and down with vigour.

"Thanks Brock," Ash replied, his voice brimming with emotion, "and thanks as well you two." the last part aimed at Dawn and May who smiled back in appreciation. Finally he took note of his surroundings, spinning around in a full circle in order to absorb the vast room.

The group appeared to be standing in some large lounge type area, which Ash had to admit, was one of the most luxurious rooms he had ever seen. One wall was completely constructed out of glass, creating a giant window that gazed out upon the Pokemon League Park where thousands of people now crowded after exiting the stadium. From the height upon which he looked down, he guessed that he was at least on the third or fourth floor.

Moving his gaze on he saw that the two walls either side of him were covered in numerous photos and paintings of Pokemon battles and famous trainers, however the wall opposite the glass was almost entirely taken up by an expensive wooden bar. The space in between was filled with leather sofas and armchairs, with small coffee tables dotted in between them like islands. To top it all off, a large electric chandelier hung from the ceiling, the perfectly cut crystals sparkling in the light it produced.

"What is this place?" The raven-haired trainer murmured in awe and looked over his shoulder for an explanation from Lance. However the Dragon Master had either vanished or never entered the room in the first place as his dominating presence was no where to be seen.

"This is the Champion's Suite, Ash, and well done for earlier!" a new, but familiar voice piped up, causing all of the heads in the room to turn towards it. Standing in the middle of the doorway that led to the rest of the building was none other than Professor Samuel Oak. Smiling broadly the Pokemon Researcher strode confidently into the room, followed closely by three other people.

Ash instantly recognised the long dark hair and red sweatband of his good friend Tracey Sketchit who hardly ever left the Professor's side. The new champion vaguely remembered the second person, a woman with red hair and a microphone clutched in one hand. He wracked his memory for a name that went with the face. Martha, Maria, Mary! Yes it was Mary, the DJ from the radio tower in Goldenrod City. The presenter was followed by the last member of the group, a cameraman, who stared at Ash as if he were some sort of god.

Fixing his focus back to his old mentor, he said in a questioning tone, "Champion Suite?"

"Yes." Professor Oak replied enthusiastically, eager to spread light on the topic. "Each year this building is reserved for the League Champion while they wait to battle the Elite Four. It saves them having to go back home and keeps them away from the very nosey public in the Pokemon League Park. The best part is that there is room for friends and family to stay as well, my stuff is already unpacked." Grinning cheekily at this last part, he sat down on one of the sofas and put his feet up on one of the coffee tables, totally at ease.

"So you're saying that we get to stay here for a week!" May gaped at the Professor before staring around the room to make sure it was still as fancy as she thought it was.

"That's the gist of it." The older researcher answered, "The bedrooms are on the next floor up!"

Upon hearing this May turned to face Dawn and as if on cue the two girls let out a high pitched squeal of delight. Without another gesture the coordinators sprinted out of the room in search of the promised luxuries; echoes of "King size beds and hot tubs here we come!" filtering back to the remaining group.

"Professor, I'm sorry to interrupt but we are supposed to go on air in 5 minutes, the Pokemon world is eager to hear from their new Champion!" The red-haired woman said urgently to the relaxed Professor, waving her hand at the cameraman to emphasise her point.

The statement caused the Professor's eyes to widen momentarily and he sprang up off of the sofa and faced the woman. "Of course, I almost forgot," he said a little sheepishly before turning to the rest of the group. "I'm sure you all know, but this is DJ Mary from Goldenrod city and she is here to interview Ash on becoming the new League Champion."

"Interview me!" Ash spluttered incredulously, "On Television!" He automatically took a step away from the cameraman, shaking his head at the same time. "I don't think so!"

"Ash it will just be like the time you went on radio in Goldenrod, besides you were on TV for the past hour during your match." Mary explained in a patient tone, before looking at her watch and frowning at what it displayed.

"Yes but those times I wasn't directly on camera and didn't have to answer questions." The new Champion whined in protest, crossing his arms in a defensive manner.

"Come on Ash," Brock encouraged, "Now that you are the Champion you are going to be doing things like this all the time."

"Exactly," Mary continued, "All you have to do is be yourself, plus we can have your mum answer some questions as well." Despite her cheery tone, everybody could detect a hint of panic in her voice as time quickly ticked away.

Fortunately, Delia Ketchum practically jumped at the idea. "Oh I've always wanted go on TV!" she exclaimed and then, turning to Ash said, "Come on sweetie, it'll be fun." Not even giving her son time to argue she grabbed him by the arm and with surprising strength pulled him in front of the cameraman.

"Excellent!" the red-haired presenter said, letting out a relieved sigh and again glancing at her watch. "We are on the air in 30 seconds!"

* * *

"Violet, for the one hundredth time we are not changing the channel!" the orange haired girl practically shouted, giving her sibling a defiant look.

The indigo-haired girl, who had been the victim of the barrage, plonked herself back down into her armchair, sulking over her failed attempt to grab the TV controller. "But we've been watching your programme for like the past hour!" she wailed in a high pitched voice, "Besides, the battle has like finished!"

"Oh be quiet Vi!" A third female voice grumbled as it joined the argument, causing both of the squabbling girls to look at its owner. Their eldest sister Daisy flicked her golden blonde hair over her shoulder before turning an annoyed stare on the pair. "I know it's a total pain, but Misty doesn't get to like watch much TV and you know how desperate she is to gaze at her boyfriend!"

"Exactly and…HEY! HE IS NOT MY BOYFRIEND!" The red head screamed her protest at the top of her lungs, clenching her fists into balls in order to restrain herself from attacking the blonde.

"Like whatever you say sis." Daisy replied nonchalantly, not even blinking at her sister's outburst.

Fuming with rage, Misty turned her head to face the TV and forced herself to shut out her sisters from her mind. Despite her ferocious denial of Daisy's statement she couldn't help but wish that what her sister had said were true. Although she would never admit it to them, the leader of the Cerulean City gym was completely and utterly in love with the trainer that she had not seen for so long. She knew that it was completely foolish to have feelings for someone she was so far away from and might never see again, but her emotions were so strong and had been part of her for so long, she could not imagine her life without them.

She quickly focused her attention back to the large television screen in front of her, which indicated the advert break was now over. The picture quickly cut to an image of a Pokeball with the words 'Indigo League live' written around its circumference and after a short pause it too was replaced by the smiling face of a woman with red hair and a microphone.

"Welcome back to the live coverage of the Indigo League final, I'm DJ Mary." The reporter spoke in a cheery but crisp voice as she addressed the Pokemon world. "Before the break you witnessed one of the most epic battles the Kanto region has ever seen and now joining me from the Official Champion Suite, is the victor of that battle and new League Champion, Ash Ketchum!"

Subconsciously Misty leaned forward on the sofa she shared with Daisy, sliding until she was perched right on its edge. She held her breath as the camera panned agonisingly slowly, almost taunting her with its pace. Finally it came to an abrupt halt as the grinning features of a teenaged boy filled up its image. When the red head saw this she let out a small gasp of air, much to the amusement of her two sisters who smirked knowingly at each other and rolled their eyes simultaneously.

For Misty the face that looked back at her was even more perfect than she remembered. The raven black hair, which filled half of the screen, was still as messy and as wild as she remembered it, if a little bit longer. His face was no longer round and boyish, but more defined, indicating the man he was turning into. However the thing that capture the gym leader most were the deep chocolate brown eyes, which stared out of the screen and sucked her in towards them.

"So Ash, what does it feel like to be the new League Champion?" Mary's voice came from the television, momentarily breaking Misty out of her trance.

At the mention of 'League Champion' Ash flashed a quick smile before answering, "To be honest I can hardly believe that I am finally the Champion, but it does feel absolutely amazing."

"You've won many competitions in the past, for example you were the first trainer ever to beat Drake the Head Leader of the Orange League, how does this compare?" the reporters voice sounded again as she asked her second question.

Ash's face creased into a slight frown as his mind travelled back six years to that fateful day on Pummelo Island. "Yes that was a great moment for me." He replied after a short pause and then turning to face the camera said, "But my ultimate goal is to become the world's greatest Pokemon Master and becoming the League Champion today brings me one step closer to that dream, making this the best day of my life so far. However I will never stop until that dream has finally become reality!" The sincerity and passion he placed behind his words was so touching that for a few seconds DJ Mary was silent.

From her position on the sofa Misty was equally moved by the little speech and quietly muttered under her breath, "Oh Ash." It even looked like her two sisters had been stirred by his words as they too gazed intently at the screen. However the mood in the room was abruptly brought to an end, as at that moment the forth and final sensational sister burst into the room.

"Like did he win?" Lily yelled as she strode into the room, cringing slightly as the door crashed into the wall with a loud bang.

The racket caused the two older sisters to tear their eyes from the TV and glance up at the salmon haired girl. "Yeah he did, his battle was totally amazing." Daisy answered in a casual tone, "He's being interviewed like right now." At these words the three women redirected their attention back to the screen, Lily taking up a position between Daisy and Misty on the sofa.

"That's Ash Ketchum!" Lily said in an incredulous voice as she caught sight of the new champion for the first time. "That's the little kid who like challenged us for a badge all those years ago!"

"The very same," Violet replied, her eyes never leaving the TV screen,

"But he is like…gorgeous" the pink-haired girl stated in a quiet tone, a small blush creeping onto her face.

"I know," Daisy agreed. "But he is like way younger than us plus he is kind of already reserved by Misty." The blonde glanced over at her youngest sister, expecting the red head to explode into her usual tirade of denials. It therefore surprised her when the girl didn't even bat an eyelid, apparently oblivious to what her eldest sibling had said.

"Hey, like earth to Misty," Violet called as she too noticed her sister's vacant expression. However even when the purple-haired woman clicked her fingers sharply next to the gym leader's ear, she still received no reaction. Misty's eyes remained riveted to the screen, her mind lost in thought as she remembered old memories and dreamed of fantasies which involved a certain Pokemon Trainer.

* * *

In a large conference room, far away on a discreet island in the Orange Archipelago, the live interview was being displayed on another, much larger TV screen.

"You are the youngest trainer in Pokemon League History to win a League Conference." Mary's voice came blasting out from the device as she asked the last question of the interview, "and in your eight years as a trainer you have achieved far more than many others have in their life time. Some people are calling you the greatest trainer ever, how do you react to that?"

Ash grinned sheepishly at the idea before smoothing his features back into a serious expression. "I don't believe for one minute that I am the greatest." The trainer said in a modest tone, "But I do believe that I have the potential to be the greatest. I'm going to-"

The boy's voice was cut off in mid sentence as the screen was switched off with a faint click. The action plunged the room into darkness, however after a few seconds the gloom began to fade as blinds on three of the four walls began to automatically open, revealing dozens of large windows.

The bright sunlight that was now flooding into the room illuminated a giant oblong table, which filled most of the space. Down each of the longer sides were a dozen chairs, all filled with men and women who were all relocating their gaze away from the display and instead looking towards one end of the giant piece of furniture. At the head of the table a lone chair stood facing the TV screen with its back to the rest of the people in the room. Slowly and ominously the seat pivoted on the spot, turning half a circle so that its occupant was finally revealed.

The man that sat there emanated power and wealth, and was unquestionably the leader of the meeting. He was dressed smartly in a green waistcoat and red tie, which were covered by an expensive orange suit that clung to him so perfectly there was no doubt it was tailor made. His short dark brown hair was immaculately combed across his head with not a strand out of place and his black eyes radiated confidence.

"Well my friends, it appears that we have a new Kanto League Champion, the youngest ever in fact!" he announced powerfully to the table. As he spoke he bent down slightly to stroke an elegant looking Persian that crouched at his side.

"What about Sinnoh, Hoenn and Johto; do they have champions yet?" The comment came from a man located immediately to the right of the first man. He was a lot older than the rest of his colleagues with grey hair and small circular spectacles that were held in place by his large nose.

"They do indeed." The man in the orange suit confirmed, straightening himself back upright whilst crossing one leg over the other he added. "All four regions have finished their respective conferences and will hold their closing ceremonies tomorrow."

"So we can proceed with the plan?" This time the question came from a man with shoulder-length blood red hair who was located half way down the left hand side of the table. The uniform he wore matched his scarlet locks perfectly and had a small letter M stitched into its breast.

The leader nodded swiftly before answering, "Yes Maxie, the plan will be executed at 08:00 hours tomorrow morning, providing everyone is in place." With this he turned his head left and right staring at his associates with a gaze that demanded answers.

"Team Galactic is operational and awaiting the go ahead." The man with spectacles replied in an eager voice.

"As is Team Aqua!" added a large man with toned muscles and a sea blue bandana on his head.

"Like Charon and Archie, I can also confirm that Team Magma is ready." The man known as Maxie finished.

"Excellent." Giovanni said with a smirk, "Now I suggest you head back to your respective locations to prepare. Tomorrow the four regions will be so busy celebrating their new champions, they won't know what has hit them!"

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

So what do you think guys? I know it was a long read but I really wanted to get the story going. Please review and give your thoughts!


	2. Double Trouble

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

I would like to say a BIG thank you to everyone who reviewed my first chapter. I was a little nervous with this being my first fanfic and all but you guys have given me a lot more confidence. I hope this next chapter will be just as good!

**In Love and War **

**Chapter 2: Double Trouble**

Ash let out a tired yawn as he reclined across one of the expensive leather sofas that littered the Champion's Suite and placed his hands behind his head in a make shift pillow. Glancing over at the other sofas that filled the room he saw that Brock, Tracey, May and Dawn had taken up similar positions as they too struggled to keep their eyes open. The cause of their weariness came from the previous night, which had been one of the happiest of his life.

After DJ Mary had finished the interview and left, the dark haired boy, along with Brock and Tracey, had followed the girls and rushed out of the lounge to explore the five star hotel that was the Champion Suite.

The number and size of the rooms that were encompassed in the six-floor suite blew the trainer away. There was a room for practically anything, including a small cinema that double up as a TV, and a games room that was filled with pool, card and table tennis tables. Much to his Mum's delight half of the second floor was taken up by a Kitchen that was filled to the brim with food and other supplies and, as she kept reminding him, provided her with six ovens.

However the best part for Ash was that the entire top floor was reserved solely for him as the Champion and as a result offered him a bedroom that could fit at least 30 other people. May and Dawn's predictions about king sized beds and Jacuzzis proved slightly inaccurate as what he was met with was more like a giant's bed and a swimming pool.

After the group had settled in the celebrations began. In her desperation to use everything in the kitchen Delia Ketchum produced a mountain of food that the group only managed to consume thanks to Ash's abnormal eating abilities. May and Dawn quickly found the suite's sound system, which proved to be just as big and flashy as everything else, and began blaring out deafening tunes. The highlight of the evening came when Ash, Brock, Tracey May and Dawn let out their smaller pokemon to see which one was the best dancer, though they were all eclipsed by Professor Oak despite his old age. However, as the early hours of the morning crept by, one by one, the group slowly made their way to bed.

Given his late night, Ash woke up surprisingly early that morning and after grabbing some breakfast from his Mum he made his way to one of the rooms that housed a TV. The reason for this unnatural phenomenon was that his match was going to be repeated and he was eager to see what he looked like from an observer's point of view. Also he still couldn't quite believe he was the Indigo League Champion so maybe watching himself win would help the reality sink in. Settling down into his current position he switched on the screen and as the morning progressed he was gradually joined by each of his exhausted friends.

"I still can't believe we missed the opportunity to go on TV!" Dawn wailed to no one in particular, kicking a cushion violently onto the floor to indicate her annoyance.

Ever since the two girls had learned of the interview the blue-haired coordinator and May had been complaining non-stop to anyone who would listen and berating everyone for not telling them.

"You're the ones who ran off, so you've only got yourselves to blame." Brock replied in a deadpan voice, tearing his gaze away from the TV to give the room's youngest occupant an unamused stare.

The sixteen year old coordinator gave a little huff and rudely stuck out her tongue at the Breeder. She then changed the use of her mouth to that of speaking but before the blue haired girl could utter a syllable, May took up the pair's plight.

"Well excuse us for wanting to get the best rooms." The brunette's voice came from across the room as she too broke away from the programme. "Besides, it's the rest of the country I feel sorry for, being denied mine and Dawn's beautiful looks and all!" With this last comment the older girl gave her hair a small flick and gave the room a seductive look.

Brock shook his head slightly at his friend's words but knowing how fiercely the coordinators could react to insults he kept silent. Tracey on the other hand was not as aware of the workings of the two girls' minds as unlike the other two males he had not spent years travelling with them.

"Sorry for! Ha it is lucky you didn't get interviewed as you would have broken the camera." Completely oblivious to the mistake he was making, the Pokemon Sketcher closed his eyes and sniggered quietly, pleased with his joke.

His laughter was cut short when a cushion, which was thrown with surprising force and accuracy, smacked into the side of his head with a loud thump. With a dazed expression the boy sat up sharply, trying to make himself less of a target. Unfortunately the only thing he achieved by doing so was to receive another one of the soft objects full on in the face, which painfully forced him back down.

Before he could recover from this last attack he felt the wind get knocked out of him as a heavy object positioned itself on his stomach. Looking up he saw that May was sitting across him with an evil looking smile plastered across her face and another of the dangerous cushions brandished like a club above her head. In a desperate attempt to free himself the lab assistant tried to push himself upwards but before he could so much as twitch a muscle two firm hands locked themselves tightly around his upper arms. Looking back up he was met by another evil grin that was spread across Dawn's usually radiant face.

"You were saying something about May and I breaking a camera." The bluenette growled menacingly at the squirming boy and adding, "Please continue." As a warning she tightened her painful grip further on his arms in.

"No! No!" Tracey spluttered frantically as his gaze switched from one infuriated face to the other. The sketcher hysterically racked his brain as he searched for something to say that would save him from another beating. "I meant that the camera would brake because it was too weak to take in your dazzling good looks." Tensing himself in preparation for the coming onslaught he gazed up at May who still had the cushion primed in battle position.

"Oh really," the girl replied skeptically whilst absentmindedly tucking a stray brown lock behind her bandanna. "You see, call me deaf, but I'm sure I heard you say something different." The wicked look returned to her face as she dared the long haired boy to agree with her.

Too intent on staying alive, Tracey just shook his head, not risking words that might trigger a reaction from the crazy girls.

"That's good." Dawn said moving her face down so it was just inches from the boys own and then in a deadly sweet voice continued, "Because if you had said what we thought you had said then we would find that precious sketch book of yours and tear up every picture into tiny pieces - "

"-and then we would eat it piece by piece in front of you!" May added in a similarly malevolent tone. Satisfied with Tracey's pale expression she eased herself off of him, but not before she let the cushion she had been holding drop down onto the boys head.

"You Guys, I am trying to watch this so if you want to have pillow fights can you go somewhere else." The complaint came from Ash who had been trying unsuccessfully to block out the sound of his squabbling friends and after missing half of the third round of battles, his annoyance had grown to a level that he could no longer ignore.

Under the trainer's irritated gaze Dawn and May grinned guiltily and muttered some sort of apology as they placed themselves back onto their respective sofas. With the two coordinators now settled and Tracey fixed in his current petrified state, Ash was content that he could continue the match in peace. However before the tired boy could settle back into a comfortable position he was distracted once more.

"Ash why are you watching this anyway, you know what happens and the real thing was so much better." The question came from Brock, who having been at the match the day before, had his head propped up by one arm and looked extremely bored, a factor which he made no effort to hide in his voice.

Gritting his teeth in frustration Ash turned to his so called best friend and said with a hiss. "Because I have to battle the Elite Four soon and I want to spot any mistakes in my tactics now, rather than when I'm up against Lance's Dragonite. However I can't do that if I'm being continuously distracted!"

Hearing the annoyance in his friends tone Brock realised he was being slightly unfair. It was true that in less than a week's time, the boy he had known for over seven years would be battling the most powerful trainers in the Kanto region and arguably the world.

Ash might be League Champion now, but he would be battling for the most prestigious prize in the Pokemon world and the ultimate goal that had driven him since the very first day he picked up a Pokeball; the title of Pokemon Master. It was a position that only a few people reached and if he were to loose to even one of the Elite four, his current rank of Champion would be pointless.

Finally grasping the full extent of the task that was still facing his friend, the breeder rearranged his features into a sympathetic smile and said. "Sorry Ash, I'll keep quiet."

Ash nodded at the older boy's sincere words, instantly forgiving him. Brock had been with him almost constantly throughout the past seven years of his life and was practically a big brother to him. He therefore knew that the older boy understood nearly everything about him and would always support him.

Now sure of no further interruptions from his friends he turned back to the TV, eager to catch as much of the match as possible. The trainer was therefore horrified to see that the screen was still switched on but displayed nothing but a blank screen. For a brief second he was as paralysed as Tracey and simply blinked at the TV as if his eyes were playing tricks on him. Once he was certain that his sight was still functioning as normal Ash practically flew of his sofa and landed in front of the exasperating devise.

"Where did my match go?" He hollered in anger, grasping either side of the screen and began violently shaking it as if his touch alone would bring the picture back to life.

He jumped in surprise and stumbled back slightly as a loud but bland male voice emanated from the blank screen. "This programme has been interrupted to bring you an emergency broadcast." It said, answering his question.

"Emergency broadcast?" Ash questioned aloud, looking around at his companions in search of an explanation. However all he received from the four other people were confused stares that matched his own. Even Tracey, who had recovered slightly, was now staring quizzically at the still void screen.

Turning his gaze back to its previous location he leapt into the air in shock for a second time as the dark screen was replaced with the now familiar face of DJ Mary.

Although Ash had seen and spoken to the red haired reporter less the twenty-four hours ago the woman's appearance had changed dramatically. Gone was the cheerful smile that usually stretched itself across her face and projected happiness. Instead it was replaced by a grimace that was so deep it looked as if it had been carved into her features. A frown was also set firmly into her expression, however what shocked and even scared the raven-haired boy was the look of worry and fear that showed in her hazel-brown eyes.

"People of the Pokemon world" she began in a quivering tone "I have just received some truly devastating information, which I must regrettably inform you of."

Here she paused as she visibly composed her quavering voice in preparation for what she was about to say. "Today at eight o'clock in the morning a series of raids and attacks took place in every major town and city on every island in the Orange Archipelago. These assaults have been carried out by well-organised and militant groups, which are believed to be controlled by the criminal organisation Team Rocket. Reports also indicate similar events occurring in the regions of Sinnoh and Hoenn, however details on these are not yet known."

"Unfortunately we also do not know the extent of these attacks as the invaders have severed all communication links to Kanto and Johto and have blocked all transport to and from the regions. However we do know that these groups are not afraid to use violence on those who oppose them and the few reports we have received describe the events like an 'invading army'."

Here Mary paused and the screen flashed to show a video that looked as if it had been recorded on a mobile phone. The clip was only a couple of dozen seconds long and of poor quality, however it clearly showed the reality of the horrifying events of which Mary spoke of.

An Officer Jenny and a Nurse Joy were being frog marched away from a Pokemon Centre by men in black uniforms, whilst others were storming into the building and emerging with armfuls of Pokeballs. The female Police Officer was limping badly and kept making attempts to reach a Growlithe in police uniform that was lying unconscious off to one side of the screen. However every time she tried to struggle free of her captors, she was brutally wrestled back into position.

Finally the screen returned to DJ Mary, who looked sadly back at the camera and after a moments hesitation spoke in a shaky voice. "For people who have friends and family in these regions I offer my deepest sympathies."

Ash stiffened as the words triggered a small cry from someone behind him. Although it was a noise he had never heard her make before he knew that the sound had come from May. Although he hated himself for doing it, he forced himself not to turn around and comfort the distressed girl but instead kept his eyes riveted on the screen as he listened to the rest of DJ Mary's report.

The presenter looked like she was struggling to comprehend the information herself but with a high level of professionalism she ploughed on with her speech. "The objectives of these offensives are not fully understood, however it is almost certain that what we are experiencing is an invasion on a scale that the Pokemon world has not seen before. In response to these events, the Pokemon League has called an emergency meeting with its members and the top figures within Kanto and Johto. The League hopes to come up with a plan of action shortly but in the meantime it is urging people to remain calm and not do anything rash. Once again I offer my sympathies to all those who know people in the three affected region. We will be covering this story in more detail over on the news channels and give you any updates as soon as we get them." With that Mary lowered her microphone and after a second's pause the screen flickered back to its previous blank state.

As silence descended upon the room Ash was left gawping in stunned astonishment, his mind trying and failing to comprehend the news he had just heard. With a horrified expression he gradually twisted his body around to face his friends, his eyes locking onto Tracey first.

The older boy's normal carefree features were spread wide in a state of disbelief. His lips were drawn tight in a hard thin line, indicating the turmoil that must be raging in his thoughts. The Pokemon Watcher was a native of Tangelo Island, a major location in the Orange Islands that surely would have been a place Team Rocket had occupied.

Ash's eyes then slid over to Brock who was frowning at the TV screen with an intensity that slightly scared the trainer. Sensing Ash's gaze upon him, the breeder switched his dark demeanor onto his friend and exchanged a grim glance.

"This is bad!" Ash mumbled out loud, "This is very bad!"

"I wouldn't have thought Team Rocket could have pulled something like this off, it must have taken years of planning!" Brock replied in a low growl, shaking his head as he too refused to fully comprehend the situation.

"This can't be happening, tell me this isn't real!" Dawn uttered in a quiet whisper, causing the two boys to turn their heads towards her. The coordinator was perched on the last few millimetres of the sofa, her small delicate hands gripping the fabric so tightly her knuckles had turned white. Like Tracey, she had family in one of the affected regions and her worry was clearly shown by the dazed look plastered on her face, her eyes gazing vacantly into space and her mouth hanging slightly open in a surprised O shape.

Upset about seeing his usually cheery friend so distressed Ash sat down next to the blue haired girl and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Its ok Dawn," he soothed, "I'm sure things aren't that bad –"

"Aren't that bad? Aren't That Bad! Well there's the understatement of the year" a fuming voice cut in. All heads in the room swivelled to face Tracey who was now suddenly on his feet and glaring at Ash with disgusted look. "How on earth did you come to that conclusion?"

The pokemon trainer was momentarily taken aback by his friend's sudden anger, causing him to pause before answering. "Well it's not bad for us because its happening in the Orange Islands, Sinnoh and Hoenn." Before he had uttered the last syllable, Ash knew he had said the wrong thing as Tracey's livid scowl deepened even further.

"Well that is easy for you to say!" the long haired boys shot venomously back, "Your entire family doesn't live in one of those regions!" The last few words came out at a shout and once he had finished his tirade Tracey glowered at his raven-haired companion, daring him to reply.

Before things could escalate even more, Brock, always the peacemaker, stepped in between the two, a look of irritation fixed on his face. "Will you two cut it out." He lectured. "Ash try to think before you speak and Tracey I'm sure your family is fine!"

"You heard the report! They could have been attacked by Team Rocket." Tracey snapped at Brock, his anger evaporating a little despite his bitter tone.

"You don't know that!" the Breeder replied in a gentle voice, relieved that situation had cooled down slightly.

"But I'm going to find out!" The soft but clear sentence did not come from Tracey but from someone else, which made everyone focus their attention upon the source. May, who had not spoken since the report had finished, was also now standing, a look of grim determination set on her pretty face. The four other members of the room watched the coordinator intently, unsure about what to make of the girl's abrupt statement.

"You're going to find out?" Brock asked, breaking the silence in a questioning tone.

May simply nodded before answering in a steady voice. "I don't know about you guys, but I have parents and a younger brother in the Hoenn region and because my Dad is a Gym Leader you can be sure as hell that Team Rocket have done something to them, so I'll be damned if I stay around here." She gazed at each of her friends with a steely expression, letting her words sink in.

"May you can't go rushing off to Hoenn on your own, it's too dangerous." Ash said in an understanding tone whilst getting up from his position next to Dawn and walking over to the older girl. "This isn't going to be a bunch of Jessie, James and Meowth's, this Team Rocket will be real hardened criminals!" He looked into the girls sapphire blue eyes, his own chocolate brown ones pleading with her to see his point.

May held is gazed for a second but finally gave a small shake of her head. "I know Ash, but if you were me you wouldn't let anything stop you and I'm just as stubborn as you are!" May smiled at her little joke before walking around the trainer and towards the room's door.

"Oh no you don't." Brock stated in a voice full of authority, placing himself in front of the door to block May's path and force her to stop. Crossing his arms across his chest in a defensive manor the old Pewter City Gym Leader said in a commanding tone. "Ash is right, you can't just storm off to Hoenn on your own and challenge Team Rocket, you'll get captured easily and besides, DJ Mary said all transport links have been cut."

Despite being a head shorter than her spiky haired friend May held her ground and stared Brock in the eye. "I know this isn't the most amazing plan in the world but this is family Brock, family, so not even you are going to get in my way."

The Breeder arched an eyebrow at the coordinator's threat and although he knew the girl had a ferocious temper he remained standing in the way of the door. Calmly and slowly he spoke in a patient tone that he hoped would infect the hotheaded female facing him. "Lets just all sit down and talk about this sensibly. I'm not opening this door until we have at least done that!"

Unfortunately for Brock at that precise moment the door flew open from behind him with such force it knocked him off balance and squashed him into the wall. Standing in the now open frame was a troubled looking Mrs Ketchum with a phone clutched tightly in one hand. The tall woman glanced around the room before her gaze finally came to a rest upon her son. "Ash Honey," she said, her usual melodic voice laced with a degree of urgency, "Professor Oak was just on the phone. There has been some sort of disaster and apparently you and he are to attend an emergency meeting in an hour's time."

"Meeting?" Ash questioned his mother in a quizzical tone, frowning as he did so. "Where and with who?"

Delia Ketchum merely shrugged her shoulders in response. "I don't know sugar, the Professor just said it was up at the Indigo Plateau and that it is extremely important. He'll be here to pick you up in fifteen minutes."

With a deep sigh the new champion collapsed onto a nearby sofa and shut his eyes as he allowed his mind to churn over the events of the past few minutes. When he reopened them his gaze was caught by the TV, which at some point and resumed its showing of his match. Now however, it didn't seem very interesting.

* * *

Ash tilted his head upwards at the vast imposing structure that loomed ahead of him. Although technically the entire Indigo League Conference and Trainer's village was built upon the famous piece of flatland, the name, Indigo Plateau, had been adopted by the towering building that was home to the Elite Four and his current destination.

He shifted his gaze to the arrow straight walkway that led to the construction and closed his eyes as he tried to get his head around the events of the past few minutes. The knowledge that Ash had been invited to the Indigo Plateau had been enough to neutralise the tense situation between the five friends, their anger turning to curiosity.

Much to his and Brock's relief, May had reluctantly promised not to run off to Hoenn and wait for further news. However before the group could discuss the state of affaires in more detail Professor Oak had burst into the Champions Suite, looking uncharacteristically worried, and demanded that he and Ash leave immediately.

Tearing his mind back to the present Ash couldn't help but feel a buzz of excitement as he marched along side his mentor. The smooth red brick path he was now treading was solely reserved for League Champions on their way to battle the Elite Four or extremely distinguished guests. Therefore, as he looked down at his feet, the young trainer couldn't help but imagine the number of famous footsteps that had fallen before him.

Lifting his gaze from the ground he stared intently at the awe-inspiring statues of Pokemon that lined his course and guided him onwards. The huge marble sculptures gleamed white in the sun and loomed intimidatingly overhead, each beast positioned as if it was in the midst of battle. As he examined each figure Ash noticed that they all represent one of the few rare and legendary Pokemon that inhabited the world, providing another indicator that he would soon be in the domain of the powerful and renowned.

His thoughts were abruptly distracted by the rhythmic slapping sound of footfalls, which came at a pace to suggest that their owner was in hurry. Indeed as he and Professor Oak turned to identify the owner of the noise he caught sight of a man in a long white coat running towards them from the direction they had just come.

They both stopped to watch as the figure slowly drew nearer and finally came to a stop before them, panting slightly as he rested his hands on his knees. Ash grinned a little as he took in the familiar large wire rimmed spectacles and the short brown hair that was gingerly spiked up at the fringe.

"Ah Professor Elm, rushing around as usual I see." Professor Oak mused in a light tone as he too smiled at his former student. The older man extended his hand out in greeting that Professor Elm grasped firmly as he gulped in deep breathes of air. When he had recovered enough to talk the Professor from New Bark Town straighten himself upright and attempted to smooth down the collar on his shirt that had popped up during his little jog.

"I thought you would like the pleasure of my company Professor," the younger man replied, frowning slightly as the fabric around his neck refused to lie flat. With an irritated sigh he gave up his cause and lifted his head up to look at Ash. "And besides," he continued, "I have yet to congratulate our new Champion."

Ash nodded his head in gratitude at Professor Elm's compliment. It had been ages since the trainer had seen the provider of Johto's starter Pokemon and had forgotten how friendly the man could be. "Thanks Professor." Ash said in a happy tone, "are you here for the meeting as well?"

The brown haired professor grimaced at the words before replying. "Yes unfortunately I am, however I don't know what the Pokemon League wants from me; this isn't exactly a research issue."

"Speaking of research, have you received any news from either Professor Birch or Rowan?" The question came from Professor Oak, his previously cheerful demeanour gone with the change of topic.

Switching his attention to his former teacher Professor Elm shook his head sadly and responded in a sombre voice, "I haven't spoken to either of them and from what I've heard of the situation I don't expect to for a while."

The two researchers gave each other a long knowing look, which Ash decided wisely not to comment on. Instead the trainer looked down at his feet and began scuffing his red trainers on the path in an attempt to ignore the gravity of the conversation.

Eventually Professor Oak broke the silence. "So what else have you heard?" as he asked the question the grey-haired man turned on his heel and gestured with his hand that they should continue their journey to the Indigo Plateau.

"Not a great deal," Professor Elm replied as he and Ash fell into step alongside the older man. "Apart from DJ Mary's broadcast there has been little information; however I have heard a rumour that Hoenn has been completely taken over! Every town and city is in lockdown. What is even more interesting is that apparently the region is not being controlled by Team Rocket, but by another criminal organisation."

Professor Oak scowled deeply as he absorbed the new information. "If that is the case then Team Rocket aren't working alone and that is worrying." He said in a concerned tone as his remarkable intelligent brain immediately calculated the consequences of the possible factor.

"Indeed." Professor Elm muttered, giving a grave nod of his head. "I have a feeling that this goes deeper than we all think."

"Well hopefully we are about to find out!"

The group came to a halt at Professor Oak's words as they realized they had reached the end of the path. On impulse the three pairs of eyes stared in awe at the huge building that was now only a few meters away.

As the Headquarters of the Kanto region the Indigo Plateau had been designed with the idea of power in mind and as Ash raked his gaze across the structure, power was instantly the impression he received. The construction loomed at least eight stories high and was crafted out of ruby red stone blocks that were interlaced with golden limestone. In the centre of the scarlet wall stood two massive wooden doors that were covered in beautiful carvings of pokemon battles and dotted with numerous colourful gems.

The entrance was flanked by two large guards who stared without interest at the three figures before them. With an uneasy glance at the two sentries Ash tapped Professor Elm on the shoulder in an attempt to gain the man's attention. "Are they going to prevent us from going inside?" He asked in a quiet tone as the brown haired man turned to look at him.

"Technically yes," The professor said with a small chuckle, "the guards are usually there to prevent all but the Elite Four and the current champion from entering the building, but I'm guessing today is an exception."

Sure enough, one of the guards abandoned his stationary position and with long strides glided purposefully over to the group. "Professor Oak, Professor Elm and Mr Ketchum," the man stated in a deep confident voice, nodding at each respectively, "you are expected inside the Indigo Plateau, please enter."

Without further ado the uniformed man spun on the spot and marched back towards the building and grasped one of the doors giant bronze handles. The second guard copied the action and with casual ease the pair slowly pushed the heavy pieces of wood open, which swung noiselessly on their hinges.

With a sideways glance at his two companions Professor Oak strode towards the wide opening. Only after a short pause Professor Elm followed the older man leaving Ash momentarily alone. With a deep breath to calm his growing anxiety the raven-haired boy took one last look at the outside world before hurrying after the two researchers who were already disappearing inside.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

The story begins! I know this chapter didn't have a great amount of action in it but i really wanted to emphasize the full extent of the situation and bring home shock that has been caused to the Pokemon world. Please review, i look forward to reading everyone's comments!


	3. You can do it

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Once again I would like to thank everyone for their reviews. I few of you have asked what Pokemon Ash has in this story and although I'm not going to reveal them just yet I can say that I am sticking with all the Pokemon Ash has captured up to the end of the Diamond and Pearl series, even those he released or left for training.

**In Love and War**

**Chapter 3: You can do it**

As the great wooden doors closed behind them Ash, Professor Oak and Professor Elm stopped to assess their surroundings. Ash hadn't known what to expect as he nervously entered the home of the Elite Four but as his eyes swept the room before him he was surprised by what he saw.

He and the two Professors were standing in a huge atrium that was filled with dozens of people, all clustered in little groups and engaged in eager conversation. The room contrasted wildly with the aged exterior of the building and instead was furnished to modern standards.

On one side of the room sat a large counter that bore a big letter P to indicate it was a Pokemon Centre. Also behind the small desk were three rows of shelves that were littered with potions and other substances that trainers might need for a battles. At the other end stood a lone black door, which seemed somewhat insignificant, however that illusion was quickly banished by the sigh above it that read 'Battlefield One', or in other terms, the start of the Elite four. The rest of the room was largely void of furniture apart from several chairs that had quickly been claimed by the rooms other occupants.

Turning his attention away from the design of the room Ash focused his gaze upon the large crowd. As he scanned each person's face he realised that he knew, or had at least met, nearly every single one of them. Many were Gym Leaders or Pokemon experts of some kind that he had battled along his journey and seeing them all together in one place filled the trainer with excitement.

His enthusiasm swiftly began to evaporate as for the first time he sensed the mood within the room. The atmosphere was so tense it could probably be cut by a Scyther and despite the buzz of conversation Ash could not ignore the sombre looks that were plastered on every face.

Ash turned to his right to ask Professor Oak what they were supposed to do next but to his shock he found that both he and Professor Elm were no longer by his side. In a brief moment of panic he desperately swivelled his head from side to side in an attempt to find his old mentor. He quickly caught sight of the two men who were halfway across the atrium and immersed in deep conversation with a woman he recognised as Professor Ivy.

The raven-haired trainer was about to join the three white coated researchers when he felt a hand grab him firmly by the shoulder. Spinning around to face the interruption he came nose to nose with a pretty young woman who was slightly smaller than him and had bright familiar magenta hair.

"Hey Ash!" she squealed loudly, a broad grin spread across her delicate features despite the general feeling of depression. "Long time no see."

"H-Hi." Ash spluttered in response, half surprised by the woman's sudden appearance and half embarrassed that he failed to remember her name.

Fortunately his flustered greeting went unnoticed by his new companion. "You've changed so much and well done for becoming Champion, I always thought you would do it." The pink haired woman's smile grew even larger as her gazed washed over him, her hand still lingering on his shoulder.

Given the extra few seconds Ash's memory burst into life, a series of images rushing through his mind as he remembered the woman's name. "Whitney!" He blurted out, earning a confused glance from the female that he quickly tried to amend. "You've changed too." The statement was only meant to be a polite reply, however as Ash made his own assessment of the Goldenrod city Gym Leader, he realised that he wasn't far from the truth.

Whitney was only four years older than him and therefore had been no more than sixteen when he had battled her in the Johto region for a Plain Badge. With a faint blush Ash noticed that although her appearance remained roughly the same, the teenaged girl of six years earlier had transformed into an undeniably attractive young woman.

"Thanks Ash!" the Gym Leader replied sweetly, letting her hand slip down to her side. This however did nothing to lessen the scarlet colour of his cheeks as her hourglass figure still remained uncomfortably close.

With a slight shake of his head to clear his mind of the distracting thoughts, Ash decided it was best to move the conversation to less appearance related grounds. However just as he was about to question the Gym Leader on the well-being of her Miltank a voice cleared itself loudly, cutting through the general murmur that filled the room, which gradually caused silence to fall.

"Welcome everyone to the Indigo Plateau!" The voice greeted and although Ash could not see him through the crowd, he recognised the soft tone of Mr Goodshow. "I am sure you all know why you have been invited here and now that everyone is present I won't waste any more time, so could you please follow me."

With an abruptness that was unusual for the small Pokemon League President the short speech came to an end as quickly as it had begun and as the sound of conversation resumed the throng of people started to flow towards one end of the atrium.

Ash glanced questioningly at Whitney who merely shrugged her shoulders in response and gestured that they should join the mass of bodies. As the pair slowly edged forward the raven-haired boy stood on tiptoes and strained his neck to see where they were headed. As he looked over the head of Erica, the grass-type Gym Leader from Celadon City, he saw that the crowd was sluggishly disappearing through a door located just to the left hand side of the desk, something he had failed to notice earlier.

Finally the pair squeezed through the narrow frame and at an equally lagging pace, ascended the stairs that were on the other side. As he reached the top of the flight of steps Ash found himself in some sort of mini theatre. The room was filled with rows of seats, which in stadium like fashion, were raised higher the further back they went. However when the trainer looked towards the front of the room he was surprised to see that there was no stage or performance area, but instead a wide window that looked down upon an glittering ice rink.

As he curiously peered down at the sparkling white surface Ash realised with a sharp jolt that he was not staring at a rink but instead at the infamous first battleground of the Elite Four. The ice field was the domain of Lorelei, the powerful ice master, whom he had met briefly on his journey in the Orange Islands.

His thoughts were cut off by a painful nudge in the back, which he assumed came from Whitney. Focusing his mind back on the room he realised that he had been holding up the stream of people from the stairs and seeing that many of the seats had already been filled, he quickly dove into the nearest available chair.

With much more grace Whitney slipped into the chair to his left, flashing a bright smile as she did so. Shifting a little in his seat to get comfortable Ash scanned the room as he tried to spot any indication of what was to happen next. Unexpectedly the seat he was in offered a good view of theatre and the ice field beyond, he just hoped that Lt. Surge didn't occupy the on in front.

"So how come you're here?" Whitney suddenly asked, turning in her seat so she could face Ash directly.

The trainer was taken aback by the seemingly obvious question. "Errm, I'm here to attend the meeting, you know, about the whole Team Rocket crisis." He replied in a slightly confused tone.

"I know that." The Gym Leader giggled, rolling her eyes at the silly answer. "But how come YOU are here." She repeated more slowly.

Ash just stared blankly at the pink-haired woman. The raven-haired trainer didn't think himself an idiot, but in all honesty he didn't have a clue what the normal-type trainer was getting at. "I don't understand." He muttered in a quite tone, deciding that telling the truth was the best course of action.

Whitney sighed at the remark but did not seem annoyed by Ash's denseness. "Well," she began as she shifted her gaze away from the boy to the room, "looking around I see many Gym Leaders, Frontier Brains, Pokemon experts and Professors, heck I can even see a couple of members of the Hoenn and Sinnoh Elite Four." Then, as she turned back to face Ash, she stated in a voice full of curiosity, "But you are the only normal trainer here."

Ash simply shrugged his shoulders; personally he didn't see what all the fuss was about. "Maybe it's because I'm the new Champion."

"But then where is the Champion from Johto?"

"Perhaps they couldn't make it."

"Perhaps." Whitney muttered to herself, clearly unconvinced by Ash's arguments. However, before the perplexed Gym Leader could interrogate the point further a sudden hush fell across the room as all heads turned towards the door.

Ash's eyes widen slightly in awe as he watched the Kanto Elite Four stride one after the other into the room. The first to honour them with her presence was of course Lorelei. The maroon-haired master glided across the room as if in a daze and flopped down lazily into a chair in the front row. Despite the woman's dreamy appearance Ash was determined not to underestimate her for a second time as he remembered the motto she had shared with him all those years ago; to go with the flow like water, but to become as hard as ice in battle.

Only a few steps behind the ice trainer lumbered the extremely muscular second Elite Four member, Bruno. The fighting-type master contrasted wildly to his colleague and marched stiffly towards a seat, a serious expression etched onto his features. Next came Agatha whose face mimicked that of Bruno's, making her usually unamused features downright grim.

Despite the skill and fame of the three masters all of the eyes in the room followed the final and most powerful member of the Elite Four. Like his colleagues, Lance strode quickly across to the front of the theatre however, instead of sitting down he turned sharply to face the audience, his cape flying in a graceful arc behind him.

For a fraction of a second the dragon-type master stood perfectly motionless, letting his eyes wash over the audience. Ash was sure that for an instance Lance's deep brown eyes locked onto his chocolate ones but before the trainer could even register the look, the Elite Four member's gaze had skipped past him.

With his inspection complete the scarlet-haired man took a deep breath and addressed the many Pokemon experts with his usual confidence and authority. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I am positive that many of you in someway or another are aware of the events of today, however let me inform those of you who aren't up to date. The simple truth is that as of eight o'clock today we, the Pokemon World, are at war!"

Lance paused to let his words sink into every member of the room, creating a silence that even a Marill would have struggled to hear in. "Again I am certain that many of you witnessed DJ Mary's broadcast or similar transmissions, however these were short, unorganised shows that were frantically aired by the media and therefore contained little if any detailed information. Fortunately I, the rest of the Elite Four and the Pokemon League have been receiving calls and reports continuously throughout the day and have managed to piece together an accurate picture of the situation."

Again the Pokemon Master halted his speech, this time to allow a large blank white screen to slowly role down behind him. The large panel blocked out most of the window at the front, obscuring the ice field from view and considerably darkening the room. Ash blinked a couple of times as his eyes adjusted to the gloom, however the theatre was lit up once more as a beam of light from a projector at the back of the rows of seats scythed through the darkness and landed on the screen.

Leaning forward in his chair to peer at the screen the trainer instantly recognised the blue and green picture that was on display. Although he had not exactly been an expert at map reading during his travels even he knew what the map of the Pokemon World looked like. The regions of Kanto and Johto filled the centre of the map whilst Hoenn sat in the bottom left corner and Sinnoh in the top right. Also present was the circular maze of the Orange Archipelago, which was located directly south of Cinnabar Island.

"The first news we received was at 08:04 hours this morning when one of Lorelei's associates contacted us from Mandarin Island South." Lance explained in a crisp tone as he continued his presentation. "The report stated that the Pokemon Centre, Police station and other public buildings in Trovitopolis had been attacked by large numbers of Grunts wearing the uniform of Team Rocket."

"From then on we received a barrage of messages from all of the other Islands in the Archipelago informing us that they were experiencing similar attacks. As the morning progressed we eventually lost contact with each, causing us to assume that communications between the two regions must have been cut. Also we believe all ports have been blockaded and airports grounded as no ships or planes have arrived in Johto or Kanto for the past two hours. It is therefore with deep regret that I declare the Orange Islands region under hostile control."

As Lance stopped speaking, the green picture of the Orange Islands on the map turned jet black to indicate Team Rocket's control over them. The Dragon Master gazed at the crowd with a stony expression as he allowed the reality of the situation to take hold of the Pokemon experts.

"Did anyone manage to get out before Team Rocket blocked all transport?" A sharp woman's voice made a few people jump as it cut through the depressing silence, causing everyone's heads to turn and face her.

As he located the voice Ash identified the electric blue hair of Clair, the Blackthorn City and toughest Johto Gym Leader. Despite the dragon-type trainer's bitter tone, the raven-haired trainer noticed that she displayed the same calm and collected manner as her relative down at the front.

Surprisingly Lance smiled briefly before answering his cousin's question, "I'm glad you asked as fortunately I do have some good news. Over the course of the day, four hundred and sixty four people and counting have made it to either Kanto or Johto via some sort of boat or on a Pokemon. Even better is that among this number are the two Gym Leaders from Trovita and Naval Islands and Drake the Orange League Head Leader. All three are currently on their way here."

The information caused a quiet murmur to ripple through the room as the audience digested this one encouraging piece of information. Ash felt a slight tug on his shirt's sleeve and turned to find Whitney leaning across to him. "Would that be the Gym Leaders Rudy and Danny?" The pink haired woman asked in a whispered voice.

Ash nodded in response to the question, frowning slightly as he remembered the experiences he had had with both men. Luckily he did not brood on the thoughts for long as another voice spoke up against the rumble of conversation.

"I'm, I'm sorry, but didn't DJ Mary's report mention something about Hoenn and Sinnoh?" This time Ash had no trouble recognising the timid voice of Professor Elm as the shy researcher stuttered out his query.

Lance's eye's narrowed and visibly darkened at the mention of the two remaining regions, which was all that was needed to quieten the crowd once again. "Yes I was just about to get on to that." He confirmed in an audibly lower voice.

Returning his attention to the screen, the scarlet-haired master continued his description of events. "Sadly the Orange Islands are only part of this horrible story as the regions of Hoenn and Sinnoh have received almost identical attacks. Almost identical!"

The repetition caused many people, including Ash, to subconsciously lean forward in their seats. News about the two other regions had been hazy at best and so everyone was eager to lap up the forthcoming piece of information.

"Like the Orange Islands; Pokemon Centres, Police Stations, Gyms and other buildings in all major towns have been attacked and occupied by Grunts. However these grunts are not members of Team Rocket, they are members of Team Aqua and Magma in Hoenn and Team Galactic in Sinnoh!"

There was a collective gasp from the audience at the Elite Four member's words, the loudest of which came from Ash. The trainer simply stared at the screen with wide eyes and an open mouth as he watched the map of Hoenn turn blue and red and then Sinnoh flash to white. Despite repeating Lance's words several times in his head, he still refused to believe that they were true. After all, he had practically been the cause of each organisations downfall and had been present at their terminations.

"There must be some mistake, Team Aqua and Team Magma disbanded over three years go!" A voice called out off to Ash's right.

"Yeah and the same happened to Team Galactic about two years ago!" Shouted a different voice and caused the room to break out in a murmur of agreement.

Lance held up a hand to bring the growing levels of conversation back down to silence. "I know, I know." He boomed out loudly, asserting his dominance over the meeting once more. "I too thought they had all come to an end. I was even present when Team Aqua and Magma were broken up."

"Then how come they have invaded Hoenn!" the question came from Chuck, Leader of the Cinawood City gym, who scowled down at the dragon-type master.

Lance frowned slightly at the rudeness of the man's question however he did not push the matter. He knew as well as everyone else in the room that the fighting-type Gym Leader lived extremely close to the Hoenn region and knew many people who lived there. With this in mind he answered the question with nothing but patience showing on his serious features.

"When Team Aqua and Magma failed in their goals to control Kyogre and Groudon they both disbanded and therefore no arrests were made. However it looks as if both groups have allied themselves with Team Rocket and become active once more."

"Well in that case why are Team Galactic back, I know for a certain that its leaders were arrested as it was all over the news!" There was a general mutter of agreement as Chuck voiced his second question.

"Indeed they were" Lance replied, nodding his head in confirmation, "All except a man called Charon who must have secretly kept the organisation running."

"So you're saying that we are facing the biggest crisis in history because we failed to arrest some people a few years ago!" The Gym Leader stated in an incredulous voice that came out a lot louder and an octave higher than its usual tone.

"Hindsight is a wonderful thing." The dragon master countered as he passively held the gym leaders furious gaze. The two men stared at each other for a second before Lance flick his eyes back to audience, not in a gesture of submission but to indicate that they should move on. "The issue is, what do we do now?"

Almost immediately a loud thunderous voice filled the room with just three words. "We fight back!" Before he turned to look at him Ash knew that the statement had come from none other than Lt. Surge. The huge Gym Leader was sat on the back row, his massive frame occupying two seats and his heavily muscled arms folded tightly across his equally toned chest as he stared definitely around at his Pokemon colleagues.

"Don't be stupid!" piped up a new voice. "There is no way we can fight a war, it is simply not an option!" This last comment came from a woman Ash failed to name but recognised her as a member of the Pokemon League. Never the less, her remark caused the audience to burst into wave of noise as they shouted their agreement or rejection of her idea.

"Might I offer my opinion?" Lance's sharp voice cut through the sound of numerous debates, silencing the room once more. Clearly irritated by the constant interruptions, the dragon master eyed the room dangerously, warning the audience to allow him to continue.

"Before this meeting I raised the issue with the rest of the Elite Four and Mr Goodshow." Lance began in a casual tone. "After much deliberation the five of us concluded that the regions of Kanto and Johto are now surrounded by hostile organisations and are likely to be attacked at any time. We also decided that these organisations are occupying three regions and it is our duty to liberate them. Therefore fighting a war is our ONLY option!"

Despite his earlier instruction of no interruptions the woman who had disagreed with Lt. Surge called out again. "That's all very well, but we have no army to fight with!"

To everyone's surprise Lance grinned at the reply. "I'm afraid that is where you are wrong!" he said with a hint of amusement. "Teams Rocket, Aqua, Magma and Galactic do not use guns or weapons to fight, they use Pokemon! And seeing as we have just had the Indigo and Silver conferences, I think that if you go down to the trainer's village, you will find the perfect army!"

* * *

Half an hour later, the large digital map of the Pokemon world had been transformed by dozens of multicoloured arrows, lines and crosses. After accepting Lance's proposal of a direct conflict with the criminal organisations, the Pokemon experts had begun to plan their next move.

Despite the constant input from the audience it was obvious that the Elite Four had already formulated some sort of strategy. Lance had made it clear that once all of the four Teams had gained complete control of their respective regions, they would turn their attentions to Johto and Kanto.

"The problem is," The dragon master explained, "is that all four groups are working together and are therefore going to attack us at the same time. Even with Team Aqua and Magma combined as one force it still means we are going to be hit from three directions."

"So does that mean we are going to have to split our forces?" The question came from Professor Oak who, despite his usual carefree and wacky nature, had taken a keen interest in events and had proved himself to be an accomplished strategist.

"I don't like it, but we don't have any other choice." Lance replied grimly, running his fingers through is spiky scarlet hair as he did so. "We can't afford to concentrate all of our forces in one place as we'll just get surrounded."

"What numbers are we looking at if we do divide into three units?" Lt. Surge asked in a calm voice. The electric-type Gym Leader had repositioned himself at the front of the room in order to be more involved in the intense discussion.

Lance paused for a moment as he did some mental calculations, "In Kanto and Johto alone the Pokemon League has thousands of registered trainers and coordinators however, we can by no means recruit all of these."

"Many of these trainers and coordinators will be trapped in Hoenn, Sinnoh or the Orange Islands competing in the respective leagues and will therefore be of no use." Lorelei stated as she too joined the debate.

"Yes" Professor Oak agreed with a slight nod of his head before adding, "However there will be around the same number from those three regions in the Silver and Indigo Leagues, so overall things will balance out."

"That's true," Lance continued, "but a lot of them are kids and although we may be desperate, we are not sending children to battle dangerous criminals." At his words there was a loud murmur of approval from the audience, causing him to momentarily halt his speech. When the noise had died down he concluded in a firm voice. "Trainers and coordinators under the age of sixteen will take no part in the coming conflict."

The dragon master was pleased to see that there were no objections. When he had raised the point earlier with Mr Goodshow, the League President had at first dismissed the idea completely and demanded that the limit be increased to 18 years, however after a lot of persuasion the older man had finally agreed. He was just about to move on to the next point when Agatha's elderly but gruff voice interrupted him.

"As well as an age limit, I believe there should also be a skill limit. What good are trainers or coordinators if they can't control their Pokemon or are too weak to put up any sort of fight, they'll just be a liability."

Lance nodded slowly as he mulled over the ghost master's proposal, "So what exactly are you suggesting?" he asked in a quizzical tone.

"I recommend that each trainer should have at least six pokemon that are at level thirty or higher. Team Rocket and the others aren't invincible but they won't be a push over either." Agatha explained in a crisp tone.

"And I would advise that all trainers have at least eight gym badges and coordinators have five contest ribbons. It's all very well having high level pokemon, but they will undoubtedly need battle experience!" Lt. Surge added, looking at Agatha whom nodded in approval at his words.

Again Lance was silent for a brief moment as he considered the ideas placed before him. "It would drastically reduce the numbers we could put in the field, but I agree it would make our forces more effective."

"So what would be the size of each unit with these measures in place?" Lt. Surge asked.

Before Lance could reply Mr Goodshow cut in, answering in a confident voice "I'd say we could muster around 10,000 trainers and coordinators, giving each unit a force of over 3000 trainers and 18,000 pokemon. Of course, we'll have to cancel this year's Pokemon League Championships to get them."

Back in his seat Ash watched events unfold down at the front of the room. Despite his enthusiasm of battling and his ability to concoct wild yet brilliant strategies the raven-haired trainer remained largely silent, feeling it was best if he let the more experienced experts in the room take charge. He occasionally muttered the odd comment to Whitney, however the Gym Leader had become unusually quite, answering him with just movements or grunts.

Ash guessed that the woman's silence was down to the fact that soon she would be fighting in a war. As he looked around the room he caught sight of several equally anxious faces, proving that the pink haired Gym Leader was not alone in her worry.

Bringing his thoughts to an end he turned his attention back to Lance whom was still speaking and pointing at the screen. Cursing himself for getting distracted he tuned back into the Elite Four member's speech.

"Due to their numerical and territorial advantage the criminal teams have no need to be secretive or tactical in their attacks. I believe that they will each take the most direct root to the nearest cities in Kanto and Johto." Lance explained.

"And those cities are?" Professor Oak enquired.

"Team Galactic will head to Lavender Town, Team Aqua and Magma to Cinawood Island and Team Rocket to Cinnabar Island." Lance said, pointing at each place on the map.

"And I guess that is were we will be sending each unit." Lt. Surge asked rhetorically, before adding, "If you don't mind me asking, who is going to be in command?"

Although the room had been practically silent before, the electric-type trainer's words caused a sudden hush to fall as the audience waited for the answer. Lance had been expecting the question sooner or later and although this was the most important and maybe controversial part of the meeting, he was still fully prepared on what to say.

"That is a good question," the dragon master replied in a light tone, "and one which I have spent the entire day trying to answer." He then gazed up at the crowd before him his features suddenly turning serious. "However you must know that the decisions I have made are permanent and completely supported by the rest of the Elite Four and the President of the Pokémon League, even though I am sure some of you will challenge them."

Noticing that he had everyone's undivided attention Lance paused for a second, letting the suspense build even further. "You will all be pleased to know that all of the members of the Sinnoh and Hoenn Elite Fours have managed to escape their respective regions and although not all of them have made it to the Indigo Plateau just yet, they will arrive shortly." As he spoke, he gestured to Drake, Sidney, Flint and Bertha, the four members that had completed their escapes and now sat quietly in the second row.

"Therefore," Lance continued, "The unit heading to Lavender town to confront Team Galactic from Sinnoh will be commanded by Cynthia and the rest of the Sinnoh Elite Four. As well as the 3000 trainers and coordinators, the Kanto Gym Leaders will also be under their command. Likewise, the unit heading to Cinawood Island to battle Teams Magma and Aqua will be commanded by Wallace and the Hoenn Elite Four and will include the Johto Gym Leaders."

Again the red-haired master stopped and assessed the audience to see what effect his words had made. Apart from the odd conversation he noted that the majority of the Pokémon experts had accepted these two proposals with no objections. _Well not yet_, he thought to himself.

"And the unit heading to the Orange Islands will be controlled by the Kanto Elite Four?" Lt. Surge asked as he tried to predict what the dragon master would say next.

"Not quite!" Lance answered slowly, causing those in conversation to cease talking and stare at him. He quickly glanced at Mr Goodshow who nodded at him to continue and with a deep breath he spoke in a calm voice. "Seeing as the Kanto Elite Four have orchestrated this entire operation we will remain here at the Indigo Plateau to manage and organise all three units. Therefore I am issuing the command of the last unit to our new Indigo League Champion, Ash Ketchum!"

Ash sat bolt upright in his seat as Lance's words echoed around the room, however he slowly began to slide back down as every head in the room turned to face him. Ignoring Whitney's eyes that bored into the side of his head and all of the other stares that were focused on him, he desperately tried to comprehend what had just been said.

Why would Lance choose him as a commander? There must me someone else with more experience? Surely this was a mistake!

Despite the hundreds of questions that rushed to his head, Ash being Ash, merely blurted out, "What?"

Lance grinned widely at the trainer's predictable reaction and tried not to laugh at the sheer horror that showed on the eighteen year-olds features. Out of all the people in the room he had known that the person most shocked by the idea would be the new champion.

"You will control the unit that battles Team Rocket on Cinnabar Island." He repeated, trying to keep his tone serious.

Again Ash's mind felt as if it had been hit by a confusion attack as hundreds of questions swam in his mind. He closed his eyes briefly to concentrate his thoughts before opening them to look directly at Lance. "But why choose me, I'm no soldier."

Suppressing a chuckle the dragon master replied in a cool voice, "Ash, you are the youngest Champion and possibly the most successful trainer ever. Take a look at all of the skilled trainers in this room; you have battled nearly all of them and defeated nearly all of those. Plus I'm sure that anyone who has seen you on the battlefield will agree that you are an exceptional trainer."

Here a large murmur of assent came from the audience and Lance even thought he heard Lt. Surge mutter, "that stupid Pikachu!"

"But it's not just your battling skills that are exceptional," Lance persisted, staring straight back at the trainer, "you have an ability to bring out the best in both People and Pokemon alike without any effort. However, undoubtedly your most import trait is the fact that you form strong friendships with everyone you meet and will always do anything to help them, even if you have to sacrifice something yourself. I'm not looking for a soldier Ash, I'm looking for a hero, and that is what you are."

The audience appeared to be awestruck by the little speech; even Ash had stopped gaping like a fish as he struggled to argue with Lances words. For a moment the room was quiet before a single voice spoke out.

"I agree that Mr Ketchum is an outstanding trainer and an extremely reliable person, however I must raise the point that he is still only eighteen and does not yet hold the rank of Master. Also what experience does he have outside of League battles?"

Lance recognised the woman from the Pokemon League who had objected to the idea of a conflict earlier. Despite the truth in her words the dragon master was not taken aback and replied in a confident tone. "The first time I met Ash he helped me prevent a Team Rocket operation to control Pokemon at the Lake of Rage. The second time we met he helped me stop Teams Aqua and Magma from manipulating Kyogre and Groudon to doing their will. Even when I have not been around he has taken the liberty to thwart countless plans by Team Rocket and Team Galactic. So all in all I would say he is far more qualified to take up the role than most of us here!"

"But how can we expect older trainers to obey orders from a teenager!"

Lance smiled at the woman's words, "Who here would obey an order from Ash?" he asked loudly so that every member of the audience could hear him.

Every person in the audience who had met Ash raised their hand abruptly and a chorus of "I would" rang out.

Unsurprisingly the woman seemed satisfied and when no more questions were asked, Lance looked up at Ash once more. "So Ash, what do you say?" he asked in a friendly tone.

Ash didn't know what to say. He had loved being praised by Lance and the other experts, however the enormous responsibility of commanding over 3000 trainers and coordinators and protecting the south of Kanto from Team Rocket terrified him. Frowning slightly, the trainer answered in a sceptical voice, "I might be a good trainer but I can't command 3000 people or organize a battle on my own!"

"Sorry did I not say," Lance replied with a grin "you won't be on your own at all. You will have Drake, the Orange League head leader and the Gym Leaders Danny and Rudy. Also Professor Ivy is keen to go back to the Orange Islands so she'll be with you and I'm sure Professors Oak will be more than happy to tag along. If you're still unhappy then I'll let you have a couple more Gym Leaders."

The dragon master looked up at Ash once more and was slightly annoyed to see that the new champion still had a look of doubt on his face. With an audible sigh, he decided to play his trump card.

"Ash, I bet you have been analysing the ice field behind me throughout the entire meeting and if I know you at all, I'm sure your itching to get on it." Lance was pleased to see a look of embarrassment flash across the trainer's face and continued his attack. "Well the sooner this entire crisis is over the sooner you will get to battle my Elite Four colleagues and I to gain the title of master."

For the first time since the terrible news had been announced that morning Ash thought about his promised battle with the Elite Four. He couldn't believe that his opportunity to become a Pokemon Master had been hindered now that he was so close.

Frustration welled up inside him as he once again realised that the same criminal organisations had once again gotten in the way of his dreams. _Well not this time, this time nothing was going to stop him_, he thought to himself. With a small grin and a gleam of determination in his eyes he looked back at the red-haired Pokemon master and said in a soft voice, "I'll do it!"

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Well there it is, the League's response! With both sides recruiting thousands of trainers get ready for an action packed story like no other. How will Ash's Unit fair in battle? Can they stop Team Rocket and the other teams? Will he have time for personal issues in his life? Only one way to find out, keep reading and keeping reviewing!


	4. My Best Friends

**AUTHOR'S NOTE **

Once again I would like to say a massive thank you to those who reviewed the last chapter it is fantastic to get everyone's opinions and improvements.

**In Love and War **

**Chapter 4: My Best Friends**

"Sir, phase one of the plan has been completed! There are still a couple of pockets of resistance left on the east coast, but apart from that every major town and city in Sinnoh is under the control of Team Galactic."

"And what about the region's external links?"

"All routes to and from Sinnoh have been shut down and are under close guard, however we were unable to prevent the escape of a few trainers and the Elite Four."

"Do not worry, that was to be expected. Otherwise that is excellent news; events are proceeding exactly as I planned them!"

"What now, sir?"

"Move immediately to phase two of the operation, speed is critical at this point so report back to me as soon as preparations are complete!"

Giovanni did not wait for the man to reply instead he remotely switched off the giant video screen that had displayed Charon's elderly image. Picking up a crystal glass of whisky that sat on the large mahogany desk in front of him he took a long sip of the rich brown liquid and leaned back in his plush leather armchair, a tiny smile playing on his usually stern face.

The leader of Team Rocket couldn't have been in a better mood as he sat stroking the faithful Persian that lay peacefully on the thick carpet beside him. Only half an hour before Maxie and Archie, the leaders of Teams Magma and Aqua, had reported that the Hoenn region was completely in the hands of the two organizations. Now that Sinnoh had been fully occupied by Team Galactic and the Orange Islands by his own team, the multi-billionaire controlled over half of the Pokemon world.

Despite the fact that the other leaders of the teams liked to think themselves his equal, Giovanni could not have disagreed more. It was he who had formulated the brilliant operation they were currently undertaking, it was he who had provided most of the finances, it was he who had the largest and strongest organisation and it was he who would assume overall command when they finally invaded Johto and Kanto.

His thoughts were disrupted by three sharp knocks on the large oak door that sat in the wall opposite him. Without waiting for an invitation to enter the door swung open and in marched a young woman dressed in the uniform of a Team Rocket Executive.

Giovanni was not a married man, even in his younger years he had held no particular interest in women, seeing them as a distraction to the more important goals in life of making money and achieving power. However despite this fact, even he could not deny that the woman who was currently striding across his grand office was exceptionally attractive. Her long legs, perfect curves, smooth pale skin and golden blonde hair were an asset he and used many times to his advantage. The goddess like looks disguised her remarkable intelligence, sharp wit and ruthlessness, which made her the ideal weapon against many weak men.

"How may I help you Domino?" he said, looking up at his second in command.

The young woman stopped and stood to attention a few feet from the desk and without looking at her boss said in a passive voice. "Sir, intelligence from Kanto and Johto says that the Pokemon League is hastily putting together a force of trainers and coordinators in order to counter our attacks."

"Well that is interesting." Giovanni replied, clearly unconcerned by the statement as he took another sip of whisky.

"Sir, reports suggest that their numbers may be sufficient to rival our own." Domino continued in the same unemotional tone.

"That may be so, but it has no effect on our plans." The leader of Team Rocket answered and then with a wide smirk added. "They are a rabble of trainers used to pathetic gym battles, we are a professional criminal organisation and are not afraid to hurt anyone who stands in our way!"

* * *

Ash stared intently out of the train window yet his eyes did not take in any of the scenery that flashed past in a green and brown blur. Instead his mind was trapped in a storm of swirling thoughts as he contemplated the wild change of direction his life had just taken. Since the meeting the day before he had thought of little else and was starting to regret accepting the monumental task that had been given to him.

A burst of laughter over to his left cut through the trainer's thoughts, bringing him back to the real world. Looking over at the source he saw that Dawn had just finished drawing a moustache and spectacles onto the face of an unfortunate May who was fast asleep in the seat next to the blue-haired artist. The coordinator caught Ash looking at her and put a finger to her lips indicating to him to stay silent. The raven-haired rolled his eyes at the girl's immaturity but grinned back all the same, clearly amused by the act.

Ash was extremely happy that the two coordinators had made the decision to stay with him and travel back to Pallet Town. After he had left for the Pokemon League meeting he had been extremely worried that both girls would have followed through with their earlier threats to try and get to Hoenn and Sinnoh. However when he had arrived back at the Champion's Suite he was relieved to find that they had stayed put under the watchful eyes of Brock and his mother.

Despite their original eagerness to leave, when Professor Oak and he had explained the League's plan the pair had instantly changed their minds and decided to stay with Ash. Needless to say that Brock and Tracey had also pledged their allegiances to their younger friend.

Within the hour of returning to the Suite Ash had received a video call from Lance who provided him with his first instructions. The dragon master had suggested that he head to Pallet Town as quickly as possible as that was the place he was ordering all of the trainers and coordinators that would be in Ash's Unit to go to as it was the closet place to Cinnabar Island.

Overhearing this Professor Oak had kindly volunteered his laboratory and vast ranch as a sort of base where all of the trainers and coordinators could merge together before the Unit headed off to Cinnabar Island. Therefore it was early the next morning that Ash founded himself sitting beside Brock on the first train back to his hometown.

With a tired sigh Ash shifted his gaze over to Tracey who was sitting next to Professor Oak and as usual, was busy drawing in his sketchbook. Although the Pokemon Watcher had been pleased to learn that Ash would be heading out to the Orange Islands, he had nearly hit the roof when he found out about the requirements needed to battle. Despite not having the sufficient badges or Pokemon the older boy had decided to stay at Professor Oak's Laboratory and help in whatever way he could.

Finally the trainer's eyes came to rest on his mother, who like May, was sleeping soundly in her seat. In her lap sat Pikachu who was desperately trying to open a packet of his beloved Ketchup without disturbing the sleeping woman.

Ash hoped that the yellow mouse didn't wake his mother up. Ever since she had learnt that her son was going to fight a war, never mind lead a unit, Delia Ketchum had not been in the best of moods. It was only Professor Oak's powers of persuasion that prevented the brunette from calling up the Elite Four and demand that they change their plans immediately.

The journey did not take long and soon the group found themselves in the familiar settings of Pallet Town station. Here they waved goodbye to Professor Oak and Tracey before heading straight for the Ketchum residence.

As soon as his mother unlocked the front door Ash sprinted up the stairs to his bedroom, greeting and dodging past a surprised Mr. Mime has he went. Upon reaching the small room the trainer threw his large rucksack into one corner and collapsed unceremoniously onto his ancient bunk bed.

The room had changed little within the past years, frozen in time by his long absences. Only a small collection of photos and souvenirs from his journeys hinted at any change at all, although Ash noticed that his mum had significantly depleted his collection of soft toys.

Ash heard the door open and then close, indicating that Brock had just entered. As always his best friend would sleep on his floor whilst May and Dawn invaded the guest bedroom across the hall.

"How are you feeling?" Brock asked as he dumped his bag down beside Ash's and began unpacking. The Breeder had noticed his friend's sullen mood on the train but had decided not to address the issue in public.

"Fine." Ash grunted into his pillow, proving to Brock that he was anything but.

"Look Ash." The older man began in a soft tone. "You have faced Team Rocket and other villains countless times and have always come out ok!"

Turning over so he could face his spiky-haired companion Ash replied in a tired voice. "I can look after myself no problem; it is looking after everyone else I'm worried about."

Brock's eyebrows rose as he finally understood what his friend had been brooding about. "Your responsibility is to make decisions Ash, not fight Team Rocket single handed." He said reassuringly as he placed a pile of neatly folded clothes onto Ash's empty desk.

"I know, I know." Ash conceded knowing that Brock, as always, was right. "It's just that people are going to get hurt and I won't be able to do anything about it." He admitted in a sombre voice.

"Well from what you told me the League is making sure that every trainer and coordinator is strong enough to look after themselves so don't go and get yourself hurt playing guardian angel."

Ash smiled at Brock's words before promising that he would take care of himself and not do anything stupid, like run into the middle of two attacks from two very powerful psychic Pokemon.

The pair's laughter was interrupted as Mrs Ketchum stuck her head around the bedroom door. "Ash honey," she said in her sweet voice. "There has been a change of plan. The Professor just called and he wants you up at the Lab right away. Apparently the first trainers will be arriving after lunch and he needs help getting ready."

With an "Okay mum." the trainer jumped down from his bed and replaced the Pokemon League cap, which had fallen off on his bed. Brock declared that he could continue his unpacking later and went to fetch May and Dawn.

Five minutes later the group of four, plus Pikachu, found themselves standing before the large familiar entrance to the Oak Laboratory. Ash pounded loudly on the two heavy doors, which after a brief pause swung open to reveal the main hallway. However the trainer was shocked to see that it was not Tracey, nor Professor Oak who had allowed them in.

In the doorway stood a boy who looked to be around the same age as Ash. He was however slightly taller than the raven-haired trainer and had long, spiky chestnut-brown hair.

"Hey there Ashy-Boy, long time no see!" Gary drawled in his usual confident tone.

Ash's gazed wide-eyed at his old rival. "G-Gary!" he exclaimed loudly, surprised by his oldest friend's sudden appearance.

Chuckling slightly at the raven-haired trainer's stunned face Gary Oak folded his arms across his chest and leaned on the doorframe. Turning his attention away from the gawking boy the ex-trainer greeted the other members of the group. "Hello Brock, Dawn, and you must be the famous May!" he said, offering his hand to the brunette.

May hesitantly accepted the handshake, before asking in an embarrassed voice. "Um, I'm sorry, but I don't know who you are."

"You remember me telling you about Gary." Brock cut in. "You know, Ash's old rival whom he narrowly beat in the Silver Conference."

"Ooooh!" May said with sudden realisation. "I remember! Ash has shown me the recording he keeps of that battle."

At the coordinators words Gary spun around to look directly at Ash, one eyebrow raised in question. "Is that so?" he asked in an accusing voice.

Ash, who had become very interested in his shoes, scratched the back of his head and mumbled out, "I might have."

Surprisingly Gary just laughed at the comment and shook his head with disbelief. "Come on, we'd better go inside, Grandpa is waiting for you." he said as he walked back into the Laboratory, giving Ash a playful shove on the way past, whom returned the gesture with a grin.

As the rest of the group followed the two grinning boys May leaned over and whispered to Brock. "I thought you said Ash and Gary didn't get along very well, they seem like best friends to me?"

Before the breeder could reply, Dawn, who had overheard her fellow coordinator's comment cut in. "Yeah, in Sinnoh they were polite, but you could tell they were trying to out do each other all the time!" she said in a perplexed tone.

"Well, you know Ash re-entered the Indigo League after Sinnoh?" Brock explained, earning nods from both girls. "Well he already had eight gym badges from Kanto so he had about a year to kill before the start of the Conference. Therefore Ash and I decided to do a bit of travelling together, you know, going back to places we liked and meeting up with friends we had met on our journeys. Well one of the places we stopped at was a small Island in the Orange Archipelago where Gary was continuing his old research. We were there for a couple of weeks and a don't know whether it was because they were older and more mature or the fact that they had been apart for so long, but Ash and Gary just seemed to forget their rivalry and be the childhood friends that they are."

By the time Brock had finished his explanation the group had made their way into the Laboratory's sitting room, where they all sat down on the small sofas. As the former Gym Leader made himself comfortable, the recollection of the story caused a question to come to mind.

"Gary." Brock said with a frown. "If you were working out in the Orange Islands, how did you escape from Team Rocket?"

The chestnut-haired boy smiled at the question. "You pick things up pretty quickly don't you Brock." he replied before adding. "It's a long story but seeing as Gramps isn't back from the ranch yet, I might as well tell you."

With all eyes on him Gary leaned back in his seat and began his story. "At 8:30 every morning I personally go out and feed the Aerodactyl we have living on the Island - don't worry I'll explain later." this last part was directed at a confused looking May who, unlike the others, did not know about Gary's secret research project.

"Anyway," the researcher continued, "On my way back from feeding it yesterday I saw six Team Rocket boats heading towards the island. I immediately knew that whatever they were up to it wasn't going to be nice, so I ran back to the Lab and warned Dora, Crystal and Jared. They left the island via the small boat we keep, however I decided to stay as I had to stop Team Rocket from capturing Aerodactyl."

"How did you stop them?" Dawn asked with one had leaning on her chin, thoroughly intrigued by the tail.

"That's simple." Gary said with a grin. "I captured Aerodactyl myself."

"YOU DID WHAT!" Ash shouted, jumping up from his seat with an incredulous look on his face.

The chestnut-haired boy's grin grew even further at his friend's reaction. "I knew that I couldn't battle Team Rocket on my own so the only other option was to escape with Aerodactyl." he concluded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"That is pretty impressive but how did you manage to do it? I thought Aerodactyl was scared of humans." Brock questioned.

Gary shifted in his seat in order to look around the still standing Ash at the Breeder. "It wasn't as hard as you might think." he replied modestly. "I have been working with Aerodactyl on and off for nearly 3 years now, so it trusts me. Also when it saw Team Rocket it was more than happy to let me escape with it."

"Is the invasion as bad as everyone is saying?" May asked in a quiet voice.

Gary switched his gaze over to the coordinator and nodded grimly. "I'm afraid so, I did head to Valencia Island at first but when I saw it surrounded by Team Rocket boats I flew straight to Pallet town. Man, it makes me so angry to think what they might be doing with my research." Despite his calm tone he punched the sofa hard, indicating his frustration.

"So what do you intend to do now." Brock asked sympathetically.

"I'm going to fight back!" the researcher replied determinedly. "I have badges and loads of strong Pokemon, so if Commander Ketchum here lets me, I will eagerly join his unit." Gary smirked slightly as he looked up at his dark-haired friend.

Ash ignored the slightly patronising use of 'commander' and returned the other boy's smirk. "I'll let you be in my Unit, but only if you let me battle that Aerodactyl of yours!" he demanded.

"I'm afraid that's not possible Ash, Aerodactyl is extremely tired from its long flight with Gary yesterday and it is still afraid of other humans." All heads turned to see Professor Oak stride into the room, followed closely by Tracey who was carrying a large clip bored. "Besides, right now I need everyone to start preparing for the hundreds of trainers that will be arriving here in less than three hours!"

* * *

Within the allocated time the Oak Laboratory looked just about ready to accommodate over three thousand trainers and coordinators. Chairs and furniture had been moved into the attic and Professor Oak's research and equipment had been securely locked away.

May and Dawn had positioned themselves behind a table by the front doors and were armed with an incredibly long list of people that had already been recruited and sent to them by Lance and the Pokemon League. Their job was to register all of the trainers that arrived and record whether they specialised in a certain type of pokemon.

"Why do we get the boring paper work?" May complained as she slipped and sent her half of the list scattering across the floor.

Dawn rolled her eyes at her friend's whining and made a show of stacking her own pieces of paper into an organized pile. "Oh don't make such a fuss, would you prefer to do what the guys are doing and run around the Professor's ranch collecting up all the Pokemon?" she replied as she watched bits of paper flutter about her.

"No, but have you seen how many names there are." May retorted, indicating the numerous sheets that littered the floor around her.

The blue-haired coordinator watched her friend scramble around on the floor as she picked up the mess. "That may be so," she began, sliding off her chair to help the brunette before continuing in a devious tone, "However all we have to do is tick off some names and we get to see if there are any attractive guys in the Unit."

May looked at her friend's face and returned the grin. "I'm shocked that your innocent mind would think of such things but when you put it like that I can hardly complain."

Fifteen minutes later the pair received their first trainer in the form a young woman who appeared to be just a little older than them. She had elegant dark brown hair that flowed all the way down her back to her waist and a figure that both coordinators were immediately envious of. The girl's name was on May's list who ticked it off, without sending the sheets flying, and directed the trainer to the sitting room.

"What were you saying about attractive boys?" The brunette grumbled as she bitterly watched the girl walk gracefully away.

"Don't worry we still have about two thousand nine hundred and ninety nine trainers left to go." Dawn reassured as her eyes also followed the new comer. "By the way, what did she say her name was? I just want to know so I can tell all the boys she has some contagious disease."

May grinned at the coordinator's evil statement. "It was Giselle or something like that. Anyway it looks as if we have another guest and at least this one is male!"

* * *

Ash dumped his last bag of Pokeballs down beside Professor Oak who muttered his thanks. The two were in the gigantic room where the researcher stored all of the Pokemon that trainers sent him to look after. Ash, Gary and Brock had been travelling around the ranch, returning the Pokemon back into their balls and then giving them to the Professor and Tracey to stack away.

Now that all of the Pokemon had been stored and the ranch made free for the coming trainers Ash could finally take a rest. The raven-haired trainer waited for Gary, who had just returned from the ranch to drop off his last sack, before heading to the sitting room. However just as he was about to leave a daunting thought struck him.

"Professor?" he began in a questioning tone. "Where are all of these people going to sleep and how in the world are we going to feed them." Until now Ash had never really thought about the logistics of accommodating thousands of people but now that he did, he realised it was far more complex than he had first assumed.

Without looking up from his task of stacking Pokeballs Professor Oak replied. "Don't worry about that Ash, the Pokemon League is sending over a convoy of trucks filled with food, tents and other supplies. Professors Elm and Ivy and a Nurse Joy will be arriving at the same time, so they'll take care of things."

Satisfied with the answer Ash and Gary made their way back to the sitting room. When he arrived the trainer was surprised to see that room was not empty but was occupied by a very, very attractive girl. Unfortunately he was less shocked to see a love struck Brock down on one knee in the middle of one of his wooing tirades.

"Hi, my name is Brock, but you can call me handsome and I bet your name is nobody, because nobody is perfect!"

Ash sighed with exasperation at his friend's familiar behaviour.

"He hasn't changed then." Gary asked with a chuckle.

Ash shook his head. "I just don't get it, I know she is pretty and everything, but I don't see why Brock acts so weird!" he said in tired voice.

Gary merely laughed again. "When you fall in love you'll find out."

"I doubt it." Ash replied before walking over to the breeder, rolling up his sleeves as he did so.

"Your beauty is so divine and…. OW OW OW!" Brock's chat-up lines were cut short as Ash grabbed him firmly by the ear and began tugging him away from the horrified girl. With a mouthed apology the raven-haired trainer pulled the breeder to the other side of the room, only to see Gary slip expertly onto the sofa, next to the girl.

"Sorry about my friend over there, please allow me to make you feel right at home, by the way my name is Gary Oak…" he cooed in the most gentlemanly of voices.

Ash finally released Brock's ear and stared hopelessly at Gary. All this trouble over one girl, he thought to himself. Spotting another trainer walk into the room the raven-haired trainer decided it was best to forget about the subject of the opposite sex for now. _I've just got to make sure I don't become like those two_. He thought, making a mental note of the point.

* * *

At first the afternoon progressed slowly for May and Dawn as they ticked off a gradual trickle of trainers. However within a couple of hours the rate of trainers and coordinators arriving at the Oak Laboratory and increased to torrent and soon the two girls had a long queue stretching before them.

"Duplica Mimic…there you are…ok you're signed off. If you'd liked to head through those doors over there please…ok next." May wearily closed her eyes for a second before she looked up at the next person waiting to register. She had already lost count of how many people she had ticked off on her half of the list, never mind Dawn's.

"Can I have your name and if so, the type of Pokemon you specialise in please." Without any enthusiasm she repeated the sentence that had burned itself into her mind over the afternoon.

"Sakura Sato and I train all types." replied a girl with magenta hair.

With barely a glance up at the young trainer May set to work. She was dealing with the second half of the alphabet and so began searching under the letter 'S'. Eventually she found the name and placed a big tick in the box beside it. "Ok, if you'd like to go through those doors…"

Once the girl had gone the coordinator shut her eyes for a second time, utterly fed up with her task. Admittedly she had seen a few attractive boys and recognised a few trainers she and met along her journeys, as had Dawn, however neither of them had time to chat to anyone. All she could do was continue the dull monotonous process, taking it in turns with her friend to ask people their names.

May heard Dawn call the next person forward and ask for their name and speciality. The brunette silently prayed that whoever they were, their named appeared on Dawn's list, allowing her to have a few seconds more peace.

"Drew Hayden and no speciality." The words caused the coordinator to smile with relief. 'Hayden' that was definitely in Dawn's half.

May's eyes flew open and she shot up in her seat as her brain fully processed the name. "Drew Hayden!" she practically shouted, causing Dawn to give a small yelp in alarm and all heads in the line to stare at her. Despite the looks she was receiving from everyone in the hallway May only looked back at one person.

"Hello May." The coordinator greeted in a cool voice, running a hand through his grass green hair as he did so, an action that caused May to blush.

"But you're from Hoenn, what are you doing her?" The brunette spluttered out awkwardly, forcing herself to keep her eyes fixed on the boy's green ones and not the rest of him.

"So are you." Drew calmly reasoned and then with a sly smile added, "and I would have thought that was obvious. I'm here to battle Team Rocket like you, or are you planning to spend the entire time getting the beauty sleep you so desperately need."

May's blush was quickly replaced by a flush of anger as she desperately tried to think of an insult of her own. "What did you just say?" she yelled back, her voice rising to a screech as her mental reservoir of insults ran dry.

Dawn, who recognised the symptoms of one of her friend's rages instantly tried to defuse the situation. "Drew Hayden, - ok I've ticked you off, you can go through those doors - now!" she said quickly, pointing at the entrance to the sitting room.

Drew seemed to get the blue-haired coordinators message and with a final grin at the still fuming May he casually strolled off to the indicated room.

Dawn watched the boy go before shooting May a 'we'll talk about this later' look. She then fixed a bright smile on her face and called the next trainer forward, acting as if the past two minutes had never occurred.

* * *

"Excuse me." Ash said as he squeezed passed a trio of twenty something year old trainers who were in an intense debate about what was the best evolution of Eevee. The Lab's sitting room had quickly become packed with trainers and coordinators, forcing the Professor to open up the large double doors that led onto the ranch. Fortunately it was a beautiful summer's evening and the new arrivals had spilled out onto the lush green lawn, soaking up the last of the sun's warm rays.

The raven-haired trainer was surprised by how many people he knew from his journeys were here. Everywhere he went he was constantly stopped by old friends who were eager to catch up and was under the continuous bombardment of shouts like, "Hey Ash, remember me?", "How's Pikachu doing?" and "Fancy another battle Ketchum?"

On top of this, he kept getting ambushed by trainers who had no connection with him at all but were eager to meet the new Indigo League Champion. He hadn't realised it but apparently he had built up a huge fan base over the League tournament and it had grown even further when he became Champion. However Ash was unnerved by the fact that most of these enthusiastic fans were girls ranging between the ages of sixteen to twenty-four whose conversations usually went along the lines of "Hi I'm Megan, I was wondering, do you have a girlfriend."

After several of these scary encounters the trainer had worked out that his safest bet was to jump from conversation to conversation, seeking out another friend before moving on from his current companion. Now however this seemingly ingenious plan had gone horribly wrong.

He and been in a predominantly one-sided conversation with Casey on the latest tactics of the Electabuzz baseball team when he had seen Drew enter the sitting room. Sensing it was time to make a change Ash had quickly mumbled an apology to the ranting girl and headed straight for the green-haired coordinator.

However when he was still halfway across the room the raven-haired trainer saw that the other boy was having similar problems to himself. Already clustered around the coordinator were three girls and although they were all quite pretty Ash did not want to find out whom they would be more interested in if he went over.

Turning away from the scene he searched desperately for another safe friend whom he could talk to. Unfortunately his sweeping gaze was caught by yet another adoring female, who began to swiftly advance towards him.

Groaning to himself the trainer prepared himself for another interrogation about his relationship status. However, before the girl could even begin her high pitched monologue, a different voice piped up behind him.

"There you are Ash. I've been looking for you!"

Ash spun on his heel, surprised but relieved by the distraction. He did not have to look far to find the owner of the voice as standing directly behind him was a boy who had messy auburn hair and bright blue eyes.

"Ritchie!" He cried out, a broad smile stretching across his face as he took in his old friend. The other trainer was slightly shorter than him but only by an inch or so and was still dressed in his usual green attire. Unlike Ash he had lost the baseball cap, but as always, a yellow Pikachu sat on his shoulder.

"It is great to finally see you again." Ritchie said, clapping Ash on the shoulder in a friendly gesture. "It must be at least five years since we last met."

"Four and a half." Ash corrected. "However that is still far too long."

The two trainers found a sofa that was only half occupied and sat down so they could talk properly. Ash was surprised to see that the other occupants were Gary and the attractive brunette who, after hours, were still engaged in deep discussion.

"So Ash, where is Pikachu?" Ritchie asked, noticing for the first time the uncommon lack of yellow on Ash's shoulder.

Turning away from the couple Ash looked back at his auburn-haired friend. "Oh, Pikachu is raiding the Professor's kitchen for Ketchup." he replied with a laugh. At his words, Sparky leapt from Ritchie's shoulder and disappeared between the maze of legs.

Ash was taken aback by the sudden reaction before Ritchie said "Your Pikachu is mad about Ketchup too huh?"

"Yeah," Ash answered as he caught a flash of yellow streak out of the room. "It must be a weird Pikachu thing!" The two boys laughed and briefly shared stories about the strange love their electric-types had for the tomato sauce.

"So, you're the Indigo League Champion." Ritchie finally stated after recovering from a particularly funny story about Sparky.

"I am Indeed!" Ash replied with a hint of smugness. "And soon I will be a Pokemon Master!"

Ritchie nodded before replying in a casual tone. "Well I guess you're just glad that I didn't enter the Indigo Conference this year or I would have knocked you out like before." The auburn-haired trainer's face stayed straight as he spoke but soon moulded into a smirk as he watched his friend splutter with indignation.

"What!…I don't think so!…I am far more powerful now and besides Charizard wouldn't listen to me back then!" The raven-haired trainer retorted childishly, before grinning along at the joke.

There was a brief pause as the pair remembered the first time they had met, when they were still in their first years of Pokemon training. "I'm glad you're here Ritchie!" Ash finally said in a serious tone. "I'm going to need all the friends I can get!"

* * *

Brock sighed heavily and rubbed his burning cheek, the evidence of yet another rejection. Checking his watch he saw that it was time for him and Tracey to take over registration duties from Dawn and May.

The Breeder slowly made his way out of the packed sitting room and into the hallway. At the other end of the big room he could see the two coordinators at their desk ticking off yet more trainers. Now that the day was heading into its evening stages the line had dwindled to only half a dozen people, but they were expected to keep on arriving until late into the night.

Taking a step forward Brock began to make his way down the hallway, however he had not made more than five meters when the videophone on the opposite side of the room began to ring. The spiky-haired boy looked around to see if Professor Oak had heard the loud trilling sound but after several rings it was clear that the old man was not coming. After a moment's hesitation he walked over to the device and pressed the large green answer button.

Immediately the screen flashed into life, revealing the red hair and serious expression of the Leader of the Elite Four. "Hello Brock." Lance said in his usual calm voice. If the dragon master was surprised to see the breeder he did not show it.

"Hi Lance, do you want to speak to Ash or Professor Oak?" Brock replied, slightly taken aback by the Pokemon Master's sudden appearance.

"No it's ok I don't have much time and I'm sure you can help me instead." the red-haired master replied. "Yesterday at the meeting I told Ash that he could have two Gym Leaders join his unit in order to help him. Seeing that your brother, Forrest, is too young to take part in this campaign I am classing you as a Gym Leader, therefore Ash only needs one more. Do you have any ideas whom he would want with him? I was thinking Blane seeing as you'll be heading to Cinnabar Island."

Brock listened to Lance's words carefully and was silent for a few seconds as he considered whom Ash would want helping him. Finally the breeder made up his mind and with a grin said. "I understand why you would choose Blane, but I have a better idea. Do you know the telephone number for the Cerulean City Gym?"

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Cerulean Gym! You know what that means! I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, I certainly had a lot of fun writing it! I would like to say a big thank you to _Ky111_ for giving me your thoughts and suggestions, they are really helping me generate ideas! If you haven't already reviewed please don't hesitate to write just a small sentence on what you think, anything is appreciated.

In response to a couple of reviews:

_fantasydelver_: Thanks for the review, it is great to here from an old school Pokemon fan! In regards to there already being a war, I do realise that there has already been at least one, but I wanted my story to be the first multi-regional conflict where Pokemon are used instead of conventional weapons.

_tennisdesi91_: I know that in the games a trainer becomes a Champion by beating the Elite Four, but i'm going with the Anime in this story where a trainer just has to win that region's league. Good question and thanks for the review.


	5. The Time Has Come

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Hey guys, the previous chapter received the most reviews so far so a massive thank you to all of those who reviewed, you encouraged me to write this chapter extra fast. I've decided to respond to reviews and answer any questions at the end of each chapter so everyone can see what great support i'm getting. I'll try and update at least every two weeks so i'm sorry if it takes a while for me to get back to you. Anyway enough of my rambling and onto to chapter five!

**In Love and War**

**Chapter 5: The Time Has Come**

Misty pressed the 'end call' button on her videophone and stared at the blank screen for a good thirty seconds. Then, as the conversation she had just had with Lance finally sunk in, she grabbed Azurill off of the small table next to her and spun around, holding the small water Pokemon out at arm's length. A squeal of delight escaped her lips as she stopped spinning and collapsed onto the soft armchair she had just been sitting on. _I'm going to Pallet Town_, she thought excitedly.

She sprang back to her feet as she realised she had to tell her sisters about the change of plan. Still on a high, the Cerulean City Gym Leader rushed out of the room and up the gym's stairs to where the bedrooms were located. Without pausing in her stride she knocked on the first door on the right and swiftly opened it, not waiting for a reply.

"You know it is like polite to wait to be allowed into someone else's room." Daisy scolded as Misty burst into her room.

The water-type trainer merely shrugged her shoulders at her eldest sister and looked around the room. Surprisingly the small bedroom looked as if a bomb had gone off in it, there were clothes, shoes and countless beauty products scattered everywhere. Under a mountain of dresses and underwear the redhead could just about make out a bed but apart from that the mess bore no resemblance to the usually tidy room. Daisy was of course packing and as always, she was packing anything and everything.

The previous day Misty had received a call from the Pokemon League President, Charles Goodshow. The Gym Leader already knew about the massive crisis caused by the four criminal organizations however Mr Goodshow had explained the situation further. He informed her that she and her sisters should head over to Lavender Town as soon as possible and join up with the rest of the Kanto Gym Leaders and the unit led by Cynthia.

The old man had also asked why she had not attended the emergency meeting that she had been invited to earlier the same day. The water-type trainer had explained that she had not heard about any such meeting and after an intense debate with the League President the two had worked out that one of her sisters must have received the invitation but not passed it on to her.

After the call Misty had explained the situation to her sisters and told them that they should start packing immediately in order to get to Lavender town. Violet and Lily had been completely opposed to the idea from the start, arguing that they had to stay and look after the gym. Eventually the pair had complained so much that Misty had finally given in and allowed them to remain as, unlike other gyms, they did not have the money to employ numerous assistants to help with maintenance. She doubted that her two siblings would spend any time at all looking after the place but they were probably better off staying than fighting a war. Therefore it was just Daisy and herself who started to prepare to leave.

Although Daisy had been training a lot more and a lot harder recently, she was still far from an expert trainer. Technically she did not meet the requirements set by the League for taking in part in the war but she could by-pass them as she was still qualified as a Gym Leader.

The blonde however was far from enthusiastic about the whole affair. Despite the daily practice with Misty and her gradual improvement she was still very reluctant to battle and was not looking forward to the idea of a war. Therefore she was not in the best of moods as she stood in her cluttered room and slowly packed.

"What are you so like happy about?" Daisy grumbled, noticing her youngest sister's radiant features as she stuffed a pink bra into one of her suitcases.

Not allowing her sister's sullen mood to ruin her happiness Misty grinned back and said in a cheery voice. "The plans have changed, we're no longer going to Lavender Town."

For a moment Daisy felt a glimmer of hope. "Are you like saying that we don't have to fight a war with a load of criminal organizations and can like, stay here?" she asked, hoping the answer would be yes. However her optimism sank as the younger girl merely shook her head.

"No." Misty replied, the smile still present on her face. "Instead of going to Sinnoh we are going to be joining the unit heading to the Orange Islands, so we have to be in Pallet Town as soon as possible."

The blonde was halfway through folding up a particularly long dress when she froze. Despite the colour of her hair and valley-girl accent Daisy was far more intelligent than people gave her credit for. Immediately she added together her sister's joyous mood and the change to Pallet Town and formed one conclusion. "Is like, Ash Ketchum going to be there?" she questioned in a sly tone.

The orange-haired girl pretended not to be bothered by the comment but was betrayed by the bright blush that appeared on her cheeks. "He might be, I don't know." she lied, turning away from the older girl in order to hide her reddening complexion. She decided not to tell Daisy that Lance had said that she had been specifically asked to be in Ash's Unit, the older girl teased her enough already.

Daisy grinned at her little sister and said in an innocent tone. "Oh I'm totally sure you know whether he is like going to be there. If he is do you like want me to pack some of my lingerie for you?"

Misty's head shot back to face her sister, a look of mortification displaying itself on her now purple features. "What…NO! I most certainly do not want to wear any of your horrible revealing outfits." she shouted before quickly countering. "But maybe you should bring them seeing as Tracey is going to be there!"

This time it was Daisy's turn to blush, however she was nowhere close to reaching Misty's perfect tomato colour. "Like why would I care about Tracey being there?" she said in a nonchalant tone.

The Gym Leader was not fooled by her big sister's casualness as she noticed that the blonde was packing a lot faster. It was obvious that Daisy had a thing for the Pokemon Watcher, barely a day went by when the young man wasn't summoned to Cerulean Gym to help fix a problem that nine times out of ten didn't exist.

With a grin she simply said "Whatever, just pack quickly so we can get to Pallet Town as soon as possible."

* * *

"Admit it May, you like him!"

"I do not like him!"

"Don't argue with me, you know you'll only lose!"

"But I'm telling you, I DON'T LIKE HIM!"

"I can keep this up all night."

"Then you're going to be very tired in the morning."

"Just admit it, it's not that hard!"

"You'll find out how hard my fist is if you don't shut up!"

Dawn merely chuckled at May's meaningless insult. The two girls were lying comfortably in the two single beds that were situated in the Ketchum spare bedroom, completely exhausted after their day's work.

After Brock and Tracey had taken over the task of registering the new arrivals the two coordinators had entered the sitting room and begun their own reunions. However, despite several conversations with old friends, the pair had largely spent their time avoiding the green haired boy who was the subject of their present conversation.

"So how long have you liked him?" Dawn asked, rolling over in her bed so she could stare through the darkness at the faint silhouette of her friend. Although she was very tired the blue-haired coordinator was convinced that she was on to something and eager to interrogate the other girl.

"Can't we just go to sleep now, its past midnight for heaven's sake!" May moaned, her voice muffled by the pillow that she clutched over her head in order to block the sound of her friend's voice. Ever since they had left the Professor's Lab two hours ago and returned to Ash's house the brunette had been subject to a continuous barrage of questions from the younger coordinator.

"Not until you tell me why we spent nearly two hours running around the laboratory in order to hide from Drew!" Dawn replied.

May exhaled loudly in frustration. "I've already told you Dawn, I wanted to avoid him because he is the biggest jerk in the world."

Dawn rolled her eyes. "Yes you have told me that, but I want to know the real reason." She responded with a hint of impatience.

When May didn't answer the blue haired coordinator propped herself up on her elbows and smiled slyly to herself. "Is it because you luuuvvv him!" she giggled, watching her friend's bed closely to see if there was any reaction.

Unfortunately, despite her close scrutiny, the coordinator from Sinnoh failed to see the pillow that was launched at her until it collided with her head with a dull thump. "Shut up Dawn." May retorted, further confirming that she hadn't appreciated her friend's comment.

"Come on!" Dawn pleaded as she smoothed her hair back into place. "You like him and from the stories you told me earlier I think there is a strong possibility that he likes you too." she reasoned. "He gave you roses for Christ's sake!"

"Just drop it Dawn, it's none of your business!" May sighed as she retrieved her pillow and slid back into bed, positioning herself so she was turned away from the other girl.

Dawn pursed her lips in irritation. She knew May was stubborn but the brunette was proving to be a much tougher challenge than she had anticipated. It was painfully obvious that May had feelings for the green-haired coordinator but it was also obvious that she wasn't about to admit them to anyone.

The blue haired girl rested her head back down onto her pillow and began to think as she stared up at the room's ceiling. She was only sixteen but already she was a romantic at heart. To her it was simple, if two people liked each other, no matter what they said or what stood in the way, she was determined that they would eventually get together. May could deny her feelings as much as she wanted but Dawn was adamant that she would get her friend to reveal her emotions soon enough.

* * *

Ash yawned and shifted in his sleeping bag, making sure that he did not disturb the sleeping form of Pikachu as he did so.

"Getting tired Ashy boy?" Gary asked as he too rolled over in his thin nylon sack.

The two boys were lying side by side in one of the hundreds of tents that now littered Professor Oak's ranch. They were not alone, the forms of Ritchie and Drew were also present in the five man tent and an empty sleeping bag was also laid out for Brock who had yet to return.

Only a couple of hours earlier, which Ash noted was conveniently around the same time that Dawn and May had disappeared, a convoy of lorries laden with food, tents and numerous other supplies had finally pulled up outside the Laboratory. Despite the massive size of the delivery, Professor Oak, along with the newly arrived Professors Ivy and Elm and a Nurse Joy, had organized the seven hundred or so trainers that had so far made it to Pallet Town into and efficient work force. In a short amount of time all of the boxes had been stored and the grassy lawns of the ranch turned into a field of canvas as the tents were erected.

Despite the fact that he had a warm house and comfortable bed only five minutes away Ash had decided to camp out along with everyone else. This choice had been made mainly because he wanted to stay and catch up with his friends, however part of the raven-haired trainer felt compelled to stay alongside the people he was soon to command.

"Kinda, it is past midnight you know." Ash replied wearily.

"Aww is it past your bed time?" Came Drew's patronising but friendly voice.

Ash simply rolled his eyes at the coordinator's comment. It was strange that the green haired boy had been included in his close circle of friends. He was extremely close to Gary, Brock and Ritchie and had known all three for years however, despite being on friendly terms, Ash had neither the years nor the bond with the Hoenn native.

None the less, Drew had found no trouble in fitting in with the group, acting as if he knew each boy like a brother. Ash supposed he had Gary to thank for this easy transition as he found that his old rival and the coordinator were uncannily similar. Both boys possessed the same cool, confident demeanour that was used with such ease to control hordes of fan girls. Whilst not going as far arrogance, the pair displayed a large degree of cockiness, which they made no attempt to control. As a result the two had struck up a strong friendship.

"I can go to bed whenever I want" he responded childishly. "But there is nothing interesting happening so we might as well go to sleep."

"Nothing interesting! Have you not been listening to our conversation?" Gary exclaimed loudly, sitting up so he could give his friend an incredulous look.

"Oh please, I know it is all you two ever think about." Ash said, gesturing at Gary and Drew. "But talking non-stop about girls is not the most fascinating thing in the world."

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that Ash!" came Brock's voice, which was accompanied by a rustle of canvas and a wave of cool air as the older boy entered the tent.

"What took you so long?" Ritchie asked as Brock swiftly removed his shoes and slid into his sleeping bag.

The breeder zipped himself in and rested his head on a small pillow before answering. "Well after Tracey and I had finished registering the new arrivals Professor Oak wanted us to give him a hand with some last packages and then I kind of bumped into Nurse Joy..."

There was a chorus of groans and chuckles at Brock's words. By now Ritchie and Drew had learnt of the breeder's abnormal displays of affection when it came to pretty girls and all four boys felt sorry for the unfortunate Nurse.

"See, Ash." Gary piped up. "Brock may be weird but at least he has got his priorities right."

"Hey, I resent that!" Brock stated in a hurt voice, however everyone ignored him as Ash replied.

"I never said I didn't like girls." The trainer explained in an annoyed tone. "I just don't eye up every woman I see and give them a score out of ten!"

"Oh come on Ash!" Gary continued. "Girls are like cars. Before you get one you have to check out the bodywork and make sure they can give a good performance."

"Dude, that's just perverted." Ash said in a disgusted tone, turning away from Gary.

Drew sniggered slightly "Aww don't be so sensitive, you're an eighteen year old bloke for heaven's sake. To me Gary makes perfect sense."

Ash turned his attention back to Drew and gave the coordinator a meaningful stare. "If that is the case Drew, perhaps you would like to tell us exactly which car you have wanted for a while now?" he said with a smirk.

Drew's eyes widened at the question. "I-I don't know what you're talking about" he denied hotly.

"Oh you know what I'm talking about!" Ash retorted bluntly.

Gary curiously looked from one boy to the other. "What are you two on about?" He asked, intrigued by the sudden tension between pair.

"We're not on about anything." Drew replied quickly, glaring at Ash.

Ash held the coordinators gaze. It was true that he wasn't exactly an expert when it came to identifying romantic feelings but even he had picked up on the displays of affection Drew had shown whilst he had been travelling through Hoenn and Kanto. He hadn't been sure whether Drew still had feelings for May and had only hinted at them in order to stop the coordinator from mocking him, however it was obvious from his defensive reaction that they were still there.

Ash adverted his gaze. As amusing as it was to watch Drew squirm, he liked the coordinator and had no intentions of upsetting him. He was about to tell Gary that they were indeed talking about nothing important when Ritchie cut him off.

"Are you guys talking about that May girl?" The auburn haired boy asked innocently, not knowing the damage he was causing.

Fortunately for the Drew the darkness hid the deep shade of purple he instantly flushed however, the choking sound he produced was not so well concealed. "W-What? W-Why would we be talking about her?" he replied as he desperately tried to get a grasp on the conversation that was rapidly getting out of his control.

Ritchie shrugged. "I was just a couple of places behind you in the registration line and I saw you have an argument with a girl you called May." He answered. "I guess it was nothing."

Drew sighed as Ritchie dropped the subject however his relief was short lived as Brock decided to pick it up once more.

"Ritchie is right!" The breeder exclaimed loudly. "When Ash, May, Max and I were travelling through Hoenn and Kanto, you were always hanging around May."

"Hey! That was only because we were both competing at the same contests and I thought she needed advice." Drew countered indignantly.

Brock looked at the coordinator sceptically. "Dude, you gave her roses!" he replied bluntly.

"You gave her roses!" Gary repeated incredulously, a wide grin appearing on his face as he digested the information. "Mate, you've got it bad." He sniggered.

Drew's blush deepened even further. "They were for her Beautifly!" He demanded in a desperate voice.

"You never gave them to her Beautifly." Brock remarked offhandedly.

Drew groaned. "I'm telling you I don't like her!" He said slowly in an attempt to make his words more credible. "She is annoying, whiny, clumsy…"

"…Gorgeous, funny, intelligent." Gary cut in, holding his hands to his chest and looking doe eyed as he made fun of the coordinator.

"Shut up Gary!" Drew spat as the chestnut-haired boy began spouting lines from Romeo and Juliet.

"Drew, just admit it!" Brock said with an amused expression.

For a moment the group thought the coordinator was going to deny it once more, but instead the green-haired boy curled up in his sleeping bag and rested his head on his pillow. "I think Ash was right, it's time to go to sleep!" he muttered quietly to the tent.

There was a brief moment of silence before the four other boys burst into laughter.

* * *

It was the fourth day after the criminal organisations had launched their invasion when the order to head to Cinnabar Island finally came through. The Unit had been in Pallet Town for three days now and nearly all of the trainers and coordinators recruited by the League had arrived.

Ash woke up and after getting dressed and attempting to tame his messy hair, exited the tent and made his way inside the Laboratory. It had become a habit over the past few days that every morning he would meet up with the three professors, Brock and Nurse Joy to discuss tactics for when they would battle Team Rocket.

When he entered the Professor's workroom he was surprised to see a few additions to the makeshift council. Sitting down on a sofa on the opposite side of the room were a trio of men who were all in deep discussion with Professor Ivy.

The one closest to him was dressed in a bright Caribbean shirt that was slightly stretched due to his toned body. His shiny auburn hair hung down on his forehead in messy bangs, stopping just before his black, but warm eyes.

The man in the middle was much more imposing and one could easily tell that he was the most senior of the three. His jet-black hair was swept back over his head and his sleeveless shirt emphasised his muscled physique. A pokeball hung on a small cord around his neck and Ash was all too aware of the creature it contained.

Turning his attention away from the dark-haired man, Ash studied the final member on the sofa. Although he was by far the youngest, the maroon-haired man seemed to fit in perfectly with his two companions. Despite lacking the physique of the other two he seemed to emit a confidence that was identical to the haughty manner in which Gary and Drew always conducted themselves.

"Ah Ash, I see you have met Danny, Drake and Rudy."

Ash turned to his left to see Professor Oak stride in from a side entrance with Brock, Professor Elm and Nurse Joy right behind him. The sound of the researcher's voice caused the three men and Professor Ivy to halt their conversation and look up at the room's new occupants.

"Well I only just walked in myself Professor but I know all of them from my journey's in the Orange Islands." Ash said as he made is way over to a chair.

"Oh yes, how silly of me to forget. I'm afraid my old age is making me quite senile." The professor replied jokingly.

"Actually he has always been senile!" Professor Elm added quickly, not wanting to miss the chance to mock his old teacher.

Professor Oak pretended to look hurt but before he could reprimand his fellow researcher for his rudeness Drake jumped up off the sofa and walked over to Ash.

"It's good to see you again Ash." he greeted, clasping the trainer's hand in a warm handshake. "Well done for winning the Indigo Conference, my only query is why you didn't win it at an even earlier age."

Ash nodded his gratitude though he was slightly embarrassed by the remark. "Thanks, I must say I'm surprised to see you. How did you manage to escape Team Rocket?" he asked in a questioning tone.

Drake blew out a puff of air at the question. "It wasn't easy, even for my standards." he admitted, however as he continued his expression changed to a smirk. "But before we got away Dragonite and I left Team Rocket a present in the form of a hyper beam or two.

Ash grinned at the Head Leader's words before shifting his gaze to Danny who had also come to shake his hand. Once he had finished with the Naval Island Gym Leader he turned only to find himself face to face with Rudy.

Although he still wasn't as tall as Danny or Drake Ash found that he was now a couple of inches taller than the maroon-haired Gym Leader. With a feeling of superiority he tightly clasped the hand that was offered to him and stared confidently into the other man's eyes. He had not been the man's biggest fan when they had last met but he decided to try and forget about any misgivings he had had in the past.

"So Professor, what is the plan for today" he said, breaking his grip from Rudy and turning to face the rest of the room.

The older man smiled but instead of beginning one of his detailed lectures he turned and gestured to the Orange Island Head Leader. "Oh I imagine quite a lot is going to happen today, but I'll let Drake explain everything seeing as he was the one who received the orders."

Everyone except the Professor and the two other Orange League members turned towards the tall dark-haired man expectantly. Despite the attention, Drake faced Ash and addressed him specifically.

"As you've probably worked out the three of us have been in Viridian City with the Pokemon League learning about the current situation. Anyway, last night the League discovered that Team Rocket are starting to mass their forces in preparation to invade Cinnabar Island. We cannot afford to let Team Rocket take the Island, firstly we do not want to put more civilians under their occupation and secondly it would give them a much better position to attack the mainland from. We believe that they will attack within the next week though we can't be sure. In response the League wants you to take your unit to Cinnabar immediately in order to repel the attack."

Ash listened intently and looked down at the floor as he contemplated the Head Leader's words. So the time had finally arrived. Of course he had known this moment was coming but after the fun of meeting up with old friends over the last few days the sudden reality of events threatened to overwhelm him and he felt the sudden weight of responsibility settle in his gut.

"How many are we facing?" He asked quietly, looking back up at the Drake.

Drake sucked in his breath and shook his head slightly before he replied. "We don't know." He admitted. "Team Rocket can't mobilise their entire force as they need to keep enough Grunts to control the different islands but we're probably looking at numbers maybe similar to, if not larger than our own."

Ash raised his eyebrows and nodded as if being outnumbered wasn't an issue. "Well that's not the best way to go into battle." He said in a flat voice.

"No." Drake admitted. "But I seem to remember my Dragonite being taken out by a Pikachu so size doesn't always matter." He remarked with a wide smile.

Ash grinned at the comment but glanced down at the floor for a second time as a fresh set of butterflies decided to take off in his stomach.

Glancing up his eyes met Professor Oak's who smiled encouragingly back at him. Ash gave a faint twitch of the lips in return and felt the weight lessen slightly. Although he technically was the commander of the unit he knew he could always rely on the old man for advice and guidance. Also, standing behind his mentor were Professors Elm and Ivy and also a beaming Nurse Joy, who he knew would offer him just as much assistance.

Then there was Drake, Danny and Rudy. Although he didn't know them that well and held some reservations about the latter, they were unquestionably experienced battlers and would always fight along side him.

And finally there was Brock. Crazy, kind, wise, Brock who had been a pillar in Ash's life for the past eight years. A pillar that was vital in supporting the trainer as he followed his dreams and came across new challenges. However it was not just the breeder that gave him the will to do the impossible; May, Dawn, Gary, Ritchie and Drew would also be at his side every step of the way and with that knowledge he knew he couldn't and wouldn't fail.

"If those are the orders the League has given me then we must leave as soon as possible." Ash said in a voice that surprised him by the amount of authority it radiated. "Our war starts today!"

* * *

The small council spent the rest of the morning in Professor Oak's workroom making last minute preparations before finally passing the message on to the rest of the trainers. By now nearly all of the three thousand plus trainers and coordinators had made it to Pallet Town and although there were about two-hundred more still to arrive Professor Oak, who was staying at the ranch for a while longer, promised he would send them to join the rest of the Unit as soon as they arrived.

Despite his nervousness at being in charge Ash couldn't help but share in the excitement that seemed to infect the makeshift camp as the message that they would be leaving later that day was passed from tent to tent. When he and Brock had told the news to Gary, Drew and Ritchie the three boys had let out cheer and begun to hastily pack their belongings. Their reaction was understandable as despite the number of people around them, life in Pallet Town had started to become dull for a group of teenagers.

Now however, the raven-haired trainer was on his way to tell someone who he knew would not be so enthusiastic about the idea. His mother had never been thrilled when he left home for long periods of time, despite her belief that he should follow his dreams. Previously he had only left to go on his journeys to become a Pokemon Master where the biggest danger was getting lost in some woods or being zapped by Pikachu. Considering this, he guessed that as he was leaving to fight a war her reaction wouldn't be a happy one.

Therefore as Ash strolled down the winding path that led from the Laboratory he tried to think of ways to break the news gently to his mother. He was so engrossed with his thoughts that as he came to the end of the path and rounded the corner onto the street he failed to see the figure walking towards him who was making their way to the laboratory. As a result the pair collided in a crash of limbs and Ash was sent sprawling to the ground, landing painfully on his backside.

"Watch where you're going you idiot!" a savage voice practically shouted.

The raven-haired trainer shook his dazed head and was about to utter an apology but when he caught sight of the other person he let out a grasp of surprise. Standing in front of him was a boy around the same age who possessed shoulder length purple hair that hung down over his forehead and half obscured his black eyes.

Ash slowly rose to his feet, bringing himself face to face with the new arrival. "What are you doing here Paul?" He enquired with a perplexed expression.

"What do you think I'm doing in this pitiful excuse of a town, or are you even stupider than I thought." Paul growled in response, smirking slightly at his words and holding Ash's stare.

Ash's eyebrows rose in surprise. He was completely taken aback by the other boy's harsh response. "Excuse me?" Ash asked, not understanding the sudden hostility.

Paul's lip curled in disdain at the question. "You heard me." He spat venomously.

Ash took a step back in astonishment. This was not the dignified Paul he had bid farewell two at the Lily of the Valley Conference just over a year ago. This was the dark, angry Paul whom he had first met when he had just arrived in Sinnoh. He could not understand this sudden change in character as the two of them had parted on relatively good terms.

Ash's thoughts were interrupted as Paul spoke once more. "You look pathetic!" he sneered at Ash's bewildered expression. "What were you expecting from me? A hug? A pat on the back like you give to your useless Pokemon?"

Ash's hackles rose at the mention of his Pokemon but he supressed his anger and kept his voice calm. "What's your problem Paul?" he asked taking a step towards the trainer. "I thought we'd gotten over this stupid rivalry."

Paul's sneer turned into a look of disgust and his eyes darkened even further. "My problem? I'll tell you what's my problem!" he replied in a barely audible snarl. "My problem is that I listened to you, you useless excuse for a trainer."

This time Ash made no attempt to conceal the anger in his voice. "What the hell are you talking about?" He snapped furiously, still trying to comprehend the situation.

The frown on Paul's face deepened and his nostrils flared as he answered. "After the Sinnoh League I tried caring for my Pokemon, respecting them and all that other crap you were always rambling on about. Well it only went and made them soft didn't it. They're nowhere near as tough as they used to be! I lost to Brandon when I re-challenged him and I got knocked out in the first round of the Hoenn League when I re-entered that. And it is all because of you."

Ash didn't know how to respond. All the progress that he had made with Paul over their time in Sinnoh seemed to have disappeared leaving the boy even more callous and bitter than he had been before. He took a deep breath to compose himself and was about to respond in a neutral tone when Paul spoke again.

"I don't want to hear another word from you." He said, his voice deadly. "I've had enough of you, that rodent you carry around and all your other miserable collection of Pokemon. I'm only here to join the Unit, nothing else."

Anger exploded within the raven-haired trainer and forgetting about staying calm Ash felt his hands ball into fists. With a lot of effort he managed to keep is face expressionless, he knew that showing any type of emotion in the presence of his archrival would only earn him further taunts.

"Oh really, is that because now that I'm the Indigo League Champion your messed up brain has finally realised that I am and always have been the superior trainer." He jeered in return.

Paul's eyes darkened further at the words and the purple-haired trainer took an intimidating step closer to Ash. The raven-haired trainer tensed but didn't take a step back and instead squared up to the other boy. If it came down to a fight Ash knew it could go either way, however he didn't want to turn up at his house looking like he'd been trampled by a heard of Tauros.

"Shut up you little prick!" Paul hissed only inches away from his face. "I told the League that I would join whatever unit they wanted, I never thought they'd put a loser like you in command of one. Had I known, I would definitely have specified one of the other two."

Ash had a string of retorts ready however he saw that Paul, like himself, had bunched up his fists. Sensing that the situation could boil over he decided to hold his tongue and instead stared challengingly at his rival, raven and purple hair only centimetres apart.

After a minute of this stand-off Paul gave a loud grunt of annoyance and without another word, took a step forward and roughly barged passed the raven-haired trainer. Ash stumbled backwards slightly but held his anger in check as he stared after the retreating figure with a look of disgust.

With a small shake of his head the dark-haired trainer gave himself a quick dust off and continued on his journey home. He had thought that after all their previous hatred he and Paul would have nothing left but friendship in their lives. He'd obviously thought wrong.

He was sure that there would be many similar confrontations over the course of the next few months but right now he had more important things to worry about. Besides, he would avoid the purple-haired trainer as much as possible and with the ever-present threat of Team Rocket to worry about he doubted Paul would cause too many problems.

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

Well, well, romance is in the air! To all you PokeShippers out there I would like to say DON'T PANIC, PokeShipping will be the main shipping in this story but I also think that Contestshipping is pretty cool as well. I'm sorry if everyone thought that the person Ash bumped into was Misty, she will be making a full appearance in this story shortly.

On the plus side we now have Paul to add to the equation and he is back to his usual angry self. I really loved Paul's no-nonsense, uncaring attitude so that is why I brought it back so be prepared for some more arguments between him and Ash. Also i feel i should add, IkariShippers, keep reading!

Now, off you all go to review!

**Responses to reviews**

_Ky111_- Thanks again for another fantastic review! It did take me a while to decide how Ash would respond to the pressure as he is older and a bit more mature in this story so i'm glad you think i got it right. I love the teasing between Ash and Gary so expect a lot more of it and I completely agree, the original trio was by far the best!

_truch28 _- I'm really happy that you're enjoying the story! I know I'm dragging out Misty's appearance in this story but I want her and Ash's reunion to be more sudden and special than those he has had with his other friends. She will be exploding onto the scene shortly! Thanks so much for the review!

_tennisdesi91 _- I'm glad Misty is still so popular, she is definitely one of my favourite characters so you can expect a lot from her. Thanks for the review!

_waterangelphoenix _- Wow, i really appreciate that! I try to describe things how I see them in my head so i'm really glad that it is coming across in the writing. Thanks for the review it was really encouraging!

_BrodyLee _- Why thank you, it is always great to hear that my readers want to come back for more. I'm glad you like the old characters that are making cameos, i loved the original series so they make the story more nostalgic. Thanks for the review, I hope you enjoyed chapter 5 just as much!

_Helpless Dreamer_ - Don't worry it really annoys me when a story is not completed so I promise to go all the way with this one. I hope this chapter answers your question. I really want Ash and Misty to have an unexpected reunion so that is why i left her out of the meeting and what better way to do so than involving her sisters. Thanks for the encouragement!

_Persephatta _- I am trying to stick with the anime as much as possible so I'm glad you like it. Wooo! Another Misty fan! Also I hope you like where I'm going with May and Drew. Thanks for the review!


	6. We Will Be Heroes

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

My apologies for the slightly late update, I have had a very busy couple of weeks however I should be back to maximum writing speed from now on. Once again a massive thank to all those who reviewed the last chapter, it is fantastic how positive everyone is!

**In Love and War**

**Chapter 6: We Will Be Heroes **

"Why do we always get the pathetic jobs?" A woman with long magenta hair complained, letting out a loud huff as she stacked several sheets of paper into a neat pile.

A man with shoulder length blue hair who was sitting next to her, glanced up from the clipboard he was holding and gave her a puzzled look. "What do you mean Jessie?" he asked in a confused tone.

"Oh think about it James." The woman known as Jessie replied in an annoyed tone. "We have to stay here on Hamlin Island whilst the rest of Team Rocket gets to invade Cinnabar Island!"

The blue-haired man thought to himself for a moment before giving his companion a small nod. "I guess when you put it like that it does seem a bit unfair." He replied in a disinterested voice.

They were both sat behind a small table at the end of a large dock that was currently a hive of activity. All around them men and women dressed in the uniform of Team Rocket Grunts were running around, carrying boxes and boarding ships. Whilst the pair were both dressed in the standard combats of Team Rocket agents, instead of the black attire worn by the other members around them their uniforms were a pure white, broken only by the ever present large red letter 'R' that covered the chest.

"Wot are yous two complainin about now!" A voice piped up from behind the two Rocket members, who both swivelled around in their seats to face the new arrival.

Standing before them was a Meowth who, like James, was holding a clipboard in one hand. This abnormal stance, combined with the fact that the Pokemon could talk would usually have surprised most people, however the pair didn't seem at all concerned.

"Oh Jessie was just moaning about the fact that we're not included in the invasion force tomorrow." James answered nonchalantly

Upon hearing these words the cat Pokemon gave Jessie a shocked expression. "But Domino said dat dees ordas came from da Boss himself, how can ya complain?" he said in an incredulous tone.

"Oh come on Meowth, don't you think that we are purposely being left out of all the fighting." Jessie said in an exasperated voice, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Your wrong Jess, da Boss wud never do dat to us, he has always had our best interests at heart." Meowth replied, folding his arms and shaking his head to emphasise his point.

"Oh please!" Jessie scoffed. "The Boss has never supported us and we've had no promotions in years. Your dream of being top cat is never going to… EEEK!"

The woman's criticisms were cut off as Meowth extracted his claws and scratched his fellow Team Rocket member across the face, leaving three nasty pink lines in return for his efforts.

"Don't you ever insult da Boss!" The cat screamed in anger at the two humans, jumping up onto the table as he did so. Although what Jessie said was true, the feline Pokemon had always idolised the man who was probably the most dangerous criminal in the world.

"I will be da top cat again whether yous two clowns help me or not! Dis war is da perfect opportunity for me to regain my title, I just need an opening ta present itself." At the end of his rant Meowth glowered at his two companions, daring them to disagree.

* * *

"Pi pikachu, chu pika!" Pikachu cried happily as it scampered down the long boarding ramp and onto the concrete dockside of Cinnabar Island's main port. Despite the relatively short journey from Pallet Town the small rodent had never been a fan of voyages and had found the ship that was filled with trainers and coordinators incredibly cramped.

"Hey Pikachu, wait for me!" Ash shouted as he too appeared at the top of the boarding ramp. He stopped momentarily to shrug on his familiar green rucksack before charging off in pursuit of his Pokemon.

The raven-haired trainer laughed as he chased the electric-type, not caring what the hundreds of people on the boat thought of him. Unfortunately for him however, he had not taken more than a few strides on the dockyard before he inevitably tripped and crashed unceremoniously to the ground, skidding painfully to a halt.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Ash Ketchum, current Indigo League Champion and the Commander who is supposed to defeat Team Rocket!" Drew proclaimed loudly to Gary, Ritchie, Brock, Dawn and May, who had gathered at the rail of the ship's deck to watch the progress of their dark-haired friend. The group, who had all burst out in laughter at Ash's embarrassing stumble, increased their hysterics at the coordinator's joke, earning stares from a few fellow trainers who were also on deck.

"Does he still act this childish all the time?" Ritchie managed to ask through various chuckles.

There was a collective yes from the rest of the group, who were just beginning to recover themselves. One by one they slowly regained their composure and focused their attention back onto the sprawled teenager.

"Look!" Gary exclaimed suddenly, pointing down towards a small group of people walking along the dockyard. "Ash couldn't have done that at a worse time; here comes Officer Jenny and a load of local dignitaries to meet us."

Upon seeing this May rested her elbows on the ship's rail and let her head fall into one hand, which she shook in despair. With a deep sigh she muttered in a quite voice "Oh dear, this is so embarrassing, they are never going to take Ash seriously."

As the brunette lifted her head out of her hand her gaze was caught by another figure who, like Ash just moments before, was careering down the boarding ramp at a full sprint. With a small groan she realised that it was Brock, which was quite impressive seeing as he had been standing next to her only a few seconds earlier.

Brock, who had originally been as embarrassed as May at Ash's fall, had rushed off as soon as Gary had mentioned Officer Jenny. The breeder was disappointed that he had not seen the policewoman first however he was determined to make amends for his lack of perception by wooing the beautiful woman.

Unfortunately, because the former Pewter City Gym Leader only had eyes for one thing he failed to see Ash who was just picking himself up from the floor. With a great deal of cursing Brock crashed into his friend sending them both to ground in a tangle of limbs.

Back on the boat May let her head fall back into her hand and even the ever cheerful Dawn gave a slight tut. Of course Gary, Ritchie and Drew collapsed back into peels of laughter.

"I think I should go down there." Gary eventually said, picking up Brock's rucksack along with his own and making his own way to the ship's exit. "Someone needs to take care of Brock before he gets arrested for sexual harassment."

With a wide grin on his face Ritchie followed the brown-haired boy; "I think I'll come with you as there is still the small problem of Ash to worry about."

By now the other trainers and coordinators on the ship were beginning to disembark, creating a steady stream of people heading towards the boarding plank, which Gary and Ritchie slipped into. The three remaining members of the group watched the pair disappear into the mass of bodies before turning once more to gaze out onto the tourist's paradise of Cinnabar Island.

For such a major tourist and trainer destination the island was surprisingly small. Although the trio could not see the entire land formation they could work out from how the long white sandy beaches curved away from them in an almost perfect arc that the circumference of the island was not exactly large.

Directly in front of them was Cinnabar City, which covered the Northern half of the island. From their high vantage point on the deck they could just about make out the imposing structures of the research lab and the abandoned mansion which the island was famous for.

Beyond the city the massive shape of the volcano loomed up directly before them and dominated the entire island. It was there that Blaine's fire-type gym was located and, as everyone knew, it was on the other side of those steep slopes that they would confront Team Rocket.

Despite admiring the view with an almost loving interest Dawn's attention was caught by a flash of purple out of the corner of her eye. Spinning around the coordinator recognised the long purple hair of a very familiar trainer.

"Paul!" she exclaimed in a slightly surprised tone. The blue-haired girl knew from Ash's furious description of the events of the previous day that Paul was in the Unit, however she had yet to see her fellow Sinnoh native. Even though Ash had vehemently insisted that his rival was even more arrogant and selfish than he had been during their travels together, Dawn had been keeping an eye out for trainer.

Upon hearing his name Paul stopped in his tracks and without shifting his feet turned his head to look for the person responsible. His black eyes scanned the ever-growing crowd before they locked onto Dawn who had begun to wave at him.

For a split second his eyebrows arched in surprise, it was not often that he was greeted randomly, least of all by a girl. However, in a flash his ever-present scowl fixed itself back onto his features and in a voice laced with scorn he said, "Oh, it's you." before turning his head and continuing on his way.

Dawn was left hanging in mid wave with a mystified expression plastered on her face and a small 'O' formed on her lips. She knew Paul liked to keep himself to himself and remain distant but she and grown closer to the trainer during the Lily of the Vale Conference and had at least expected a hello from him. It looked as if Ash's description of the boy had been accurate after all.

"What was that about?" May enquired irritably. She had noticed how her friend had been cut off and she was eager for an explanation.

The question seemed to shake Dawn out of her surprised state and the blue-haired coordinator immediately turned an angry shade of red. "That was Paul!" she fired back.

Without another word the bluenette stormed off in pursuit of the rude boy, leaving May alone with Drew. The brunette coordinator let out an annoyed sigh at her friend's actions; no doubt it would be her turn to do the interrogating tonight.

Turning around to pick up her bag she felt Drew's eyes upon her. Straightening up and placing her hands on her hips she arched one eyebrow and gave the green-haired boy a searching stare. "What are you so interested in?" she demanded in a loud tone.

Drew simply stared back at the frustrated girl, arching an eyebrow of his own at her behaviour. Privately he thought that the way May was standing, with her cheeks slightly red with annoyance, was one of the most gorgeous things he had ever seen. However not wanting to reveal his inner feelings he replied in a sneering voice, "Don't flatter yourself!" before marching off like Dawn.

May was simply left fuming, standing with her mouth agape in an expression that was almost identical to Dawn's after Paul had snubbed her. With a snarl the coordinator yanked her bag onto her shoulders before storming off in the direction her friends had taken. She hoped Team Rocket arrived soon; she needed something to beat to a pulp.

* * *

"Reports from the League say that Team Rocket's main force is about to leave Hamlin Island, so my guess is that they'll arrive here late tomorrow morning." Officer Jenny stated as she pointed at a map of the Orange Islands that was rolled out on the small table in front of her.

As well as the Police Officer; Ash, Brock, Gary, Drake, Rudy, Danny and Professors Elm and Ivy were also clustered around the piece of furniture. The group were in one of the two Cinnabar Island Pokemon Centres, which was conveniently located on the Southern tip of the Island. Around them, trainers, coordinators and Pokemon alike were moving boxes of food and other supplies into the back of the Centre for storage.

"So that mean's we'll have to make an early start tomorrow if we want to get into position before they arrive." Ash said, scrutinising a more detailed map of the Cinnabar coastline.

"An early start! Looks like you're about to face your toughest challenge yet Ash!" Gary joked, flashing a cheeky grin in Ash's direction.

The raven-haired trainer childishly poked his tongue out at his friend but otherwise ignored the jibe about his first day as a trainer and continued to study the map.

The pair's immaturity was cut short as Drake noisily cleared his throat and leaned forward onto the table. The Orange Crew Head Leader quite enjoyed the banter that went on between Ash and his friends however he believed that given the current circumstances the group should spend their time more wisely.

"Before we make any plans for tomorrow we need to create a suitable structure of command to the Unit." He said in a serious tone, looking at every other person round the table as he spoke. "It's all very well having Ash as the overall commander but he can't control all three thousand trainers at once, we need to break things down a bit more."

"So you mean like having one person commanding all of the water types, another all of the psychic types and so on?" Danny questioned, nodding slightly as he mulled over the idea. "It makes sense to me." He finally added.

"Exactly!" Drake exclaimed enthusiastically. "Although maybe we don't need to break things down quite that much but instead split the Unit into three sections. I suggest we have a water type section to fight in the sea, a flying type section in the air and the rest of the pokemon on the beach."

"I agree!" Professor Elm chipped in, pushing his glasses back into position as he leaned forward onto the table. "But may I suggest that we also have another section of the Unit on top of the cliffs to provide defence for the section on the beach."

The Professor's point was met by nods of agreement from all around the table before Gary spoke for the first time. Unlike the other members of the group the brown-haired researcher had no title to distinguish himself by but as an extremely successful scientist and the grandson of Professor Oak he had been readily accepted into the makeshift council.

"Obviously Ash will command the main body of Pokemon on the beach, but who will be the leaders of the other three sections?" he asked in a questioning tone.

"I would say that Danny, Rudy and Drake should be the other three leaders as apart from Ash they are the most powerful and experienced trainers in the Unit." Professor Ivy replied in her usual calm and calculated tone.

"Well seeing as Drake has a Dragonite, I think it is clear that he should control the flying Pokemon, however you two can choose who leads the other sections." Ash said, gesturing at Rudy and Danny.

The two leaders looked at each other before Danny shrugged his shoulders. "I really don't mind which one I lead." He replied casually.

"Well in that case I'd like to command the water Pokemon." Rudy answered, looking round the table to see if there were any objections.

Ash nodded, satisfied by the new positions. "Ok well that's settled, are there any more questions about the command of the unit?" he asked.

"I have one." Danny announced, causing all heads to face him. Once he was sure of everyone's attention he continued. "I know we don't want to break the Unit down too much but even with it divided into four sections that's still a lot of trainers for one person to manage. They'll need at least a couple of subordinates or something."

There was a moment's pause as the idea was mulled over. "I see where you're coming from!" Drake finally answered. "It would be useful to have a couple of people in each section to help deliver orders. The only problem is, how do we pick them? They need to be of a certain calibre if they are going to help lead hundreds of trainers and coordinators." He asked, frowning slightly.

"Well I could be one!" Brock suddenly piped up. "I'm still qualified as a Gym Leader and a lot of people will recognise me."

The breeder had been unusually quite throughout the meeting as only half of his attention had been focused on the group round the table. The other half was fixed on the busy figure of a pink-haired nurse who was overseeing the storing of supplies in the Pokemon Centre, a task that required her to bend down rather frequently.

"Me too!" Gary added enthusiastically, practically jumping at the opportunity.

"Well I don't have a problem with that, but we still have six more places to fill." Drake said looking helplessly around the table.

"I don't mind being one" Professor Ivy declared, much to everyone's surprise. The researcher smiled at the shocked faces and lightly added. "Don't look like that, I know I spend most of my time in the lab but I used to train Pokemon as well and I'm just as keen to defeat Team Rocket as everyone else."

No one argued with this, in fact Ash was eager to see if the Professor possessed any powerful Pokemon like the Dragonite Professor Oak had kept hidden for so many years.

"That leaves us with five." Drake said. "Any more suggestions?"

"If it is ok for Gary to be one." Ash said, thinking out loud. "Why not let Ritchie, May, Drew and Dawn be subordinates, they are all really good trainers and have done well in Conferences and Grand Festivals!"

This suggestion received a mixed reaction from the audience around the table. Whilst Gary and Brock nodded in firm agreement the three Orange Island Gym leaders had sceptical looks written on their faces.

It was Danny who voiced their concerns. "Ash I know they are your friends and are probably brilliant trainers or coordinators, but they are still pretty young."

"Usually I would agree with you Danny." Professor Elm cut in before Ash could reply. "But I must say that I've gotten to know Ritchie, May and Drew personally as they have all travelled around Johto and I assure you that they are all exceptional trainers. I don't know about this Dawn, but if there is one thing Ash is good at besides Pokemon training, it is picking his friends!"

Ash nodded his thanks to the brown-haired Professor before turning his attention back to the three men. For a while there was silence as Professor Elm's words were pondered, until Drake finally spoke.

"Ok well I'm still not sure but at the end of the day Ash is the Unit commander and I trust the Professors judgement. Anyway at least that leaves us with only one more position to figure out."

"May I suggest someone?" all heads turned to Rudy, who was looking straight at Ash. "What about the boy who battled you last year during Sinnoh's Lily of the Vale Conference. It was a pretty intense battle and I've seen him round the camp so I know he is part of the Unit."

The raven-haired trainer's eyes bulked at the Trovita Island Gym Leader's suggestion and he barely suppressed a cry of protest. There was no way he was going to allow Paul to have any sort of command in his Unit. He was just about to voice his opinion when Drake cut him off.

"You're on about the purple-haired guy aren't you?" The Head Leader asked Rudy, who nodded in response. "His name is Paul Rebolledo and he has done well in a number of leagues. He is older than the others so I think he would be a good choice."

Ash nearly choked at this. He didn't mind arguing with Rudy, but now that Drake supported the idea he knew he would be fighting a losing battle. Never the less, the idea of Paul having any type of command was something Ash could not allow without a fight.

"I don't think that is a good idea, I know Paul and he isn't exactly the nicest guy in the world." Ash said rather forcefully.

Drake was slightly taken aback by Ash's reaction, it was unusual to see the trainer reject someone so vehemently. "Maybe so Ash, but at the moment he is our only option, unless you have any more ideas?" he reasoned.

The trainer reluctantly shook his head and Drake continued. "Well then that's settled it; if it makes you feel any better I'll have Paul in the flying section with me. Anyway I think we've spent enough time talking and should start preparing for what is in store tomorrow."

With that he stood up, which initiated a series of harsh scraping sounds as everyone else pushed back their chairs to join him, everyone except Ash who stayed seated and brooded over the group's last decision.

* * *

Ash gazed out across the calm ocean, his eyes fixed on the ever-fading horizon that was only made visible by the last of the day's light. The black water and dark midnight blue of the sky forming a perfect divide between.

He shivered slightly as the first of the sea's waves lapped silently up the beach and swashed around is bare feet. The feeling was not unpleasant but enough to jog is wondering thoughts back to his surroundings.

Lifting his head up he stared at the thousands of bright twinkling stars that covered the entire sky and took his breath away. Having travelled across five different regions the trainer was no stranger to the beauty nature could show but that didn't mean he was any less impressed by it. However the thing he enjoyed the most was the eternal silence that night had brought with it, providing a blissful relief from the bustle of over three thousand trainers.

"Pi pika pika chu." Mumbled the small mouse that was nestle comfortably on the top of his hat.

"I like it out here too, buddy!" he replied quietly.

His thoughts darkened as he realised that in less than twenty four hours' time this peaceful paradise, which nature had so generously created, would be shattered by the power crazy ambitions of Team Rocket; ambitions that he had to prevent.

The soft squelch of feet treading on wet sand distracted him once more and the raven-haired boy slowly turned his head to see another boy walking towards him. Recognising the approaching figure he looked back out to the horizon, which had all but disappeared. Soon the squelching sounds stopped and out of the corner of his eye he saw the new arrival stop and stand by his left shoulder.

"It's so quiet out hear!" Ash whispered, not wanting to break the peace of the night.

"The silence before the storm." Came the equally soft response.

"It looks like it's going to be a big storm." The raven-haired trainer added, still keeping his eyes on the blackness in front of him.

"Well things were starting to get boring." The figure responded lightly.

It wasn't particularly funny but Ash grinned at the comment and finally turned to face the other boy who in turn was smiling back at him. After years of bitter rivalry and hatred it seemed strange that he could now have these moments with Gary. Both boys still liked to mock and compete with one another but they always felt completely at ease together.

For a while the pair from Pallet Town stood in silence, content with the other's presence and their own thoughts however after a few minutes Gary finally spoke again.

"Are you scared about tomorrow?" He asked in a normal tone of voice, his words piercing the peace.

"Terrified!" Ash said simply, not caring if Gary laughed at him for it.

As expected Gary emitted a small chuckle at his words but instead of mocking him he replied. "Me too! To be honest I wouldn't have believed you if you had said you weren't."

Although he would never admit it Ash was touched by the honesty in his friend's words. It was not often that Gary Oak confessed that he was scared of something, another sign that showed just how much their friendship had improved.

"Are you still upset about Paul?" Gary asked when Ash remained silent. The decision to make Paul a subordinate had been made hours earlier but he knew that his friend was still angry about the matter.

Ash sighed heavily and was silent for a few more seconds as he considered how to reply. Now that he had had time to think about it he admitted that Paul was a good choice for the role. Not only was he a strong trainer and reliable but his crisp, straight to the point way of talking would be ideal for delivering messages quickly and accurately in the chaos of battle. None the less, the raven haired trainer still had a niggling feeling that told him that it was still a bad idea.

"Let's just say I've accepted it even if I disagree with it." He admitted. He did not want to dwell on the subject and quickly changed the topic. "Have you decided which section of the unit you're going to be with tomorrow?" he asked quickly.

Gary noticed the change but decided to ignore it, he knew Ash had his reasons. He nodded, but remembering that it was dark and that Ash couldn't see him he answered. "Yes, seeing as I'm the only human Aerodactyl trusts I'll be flying on it in Drake's section. Plus I have Scizor, Skarmory and Fearow to back me up."

"What about you're other two Pokemon, you haven't got anymore flying types have you?" Ash asked.

"No I haven't." Gary confirmed. "But I've given my Blastoise to Dawn who in return has given me her Togetic. She and May are going to be with Rudy and the water Pokemon. By the way, while I remember, apparently Professor Ivy wants grass Pokemon on the cliffs for defence."

Ash screwed up his face into look of confusion. "Why grass types?" he asked.

"Beats me." Gary replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "I'd have thought grass Pokemon would have been better on the beach being strong against water types and all."

"Well in that case." The raven-haired trainer muttered as he put his hand to his belt. "I should give you Staraptor." Picking the right Pokeball off his belt, Ash tossed the sphere to Gary who caught it despite the darkness. "Take good care of it!" Ash added

"Don't you worry, it will be safe with me."

Ash knew that Gary would stay true to his word and therefore had no regrets about giving him one of his Pokemon. The only question was, what Pokemon would he now use to make up his total of six?

His question was answered seconds later a Gary tossed a Pokeball back to him in return. "You should take Umbreon as a replacement." Gary said as he threw the orb through the air. "It's as strong as any Pokemon and won't let you down." He added honestly.

Ash thanked the researcher and clipped the Pokeball into the place that had been vacated by Staraptor. He was about to ask Gary what attacks the creature possessed however the sound of squashed sand interrupted him once more. This time it came in rapid irregular patterns, indicating that more than one person was approaching.

Both he and the chestnut-haired researcher looked around to see Ritchie and Drew casually strolling towards them. A little way behind the pair came Dawn and May who were each clutching one of Brock's ears and dragging the struggling breeder between them.

"Who was the unlucky woman this time?" Gary asked matter-of-factly, raising an eyebrow at the spectacle.

"We found him in the Pokemon Centre offering Nurse Joy a hand." May answered as she and Dawn effortlessly dumped the older boy on the floor. "But his hand's weren't anywhere near the boxes he was supposed to be moving if you get what I mean." She added in a disgusted tone.

"What do you mean?" Ash asked, although he wasn't sure that he wanted an answer.

Fortunately May decided to remain vague about the subject. "Lets just say his hands were where Nurse Joy wouldn't want them to be."

"Ah Nurse Joy." Brock mumbled dreamily as he began to stand up. "I wish she would give me her hand in marriage!"

Unfortunately for Brock he was sent sprawling once more as May delivered a perfect upper cut to his Jaw. "You wish lover-boy." The brunette shouted before turning away and whining. "I wish Max was here to pull him by the ear."

"What happened to his Croagunk?" Dawn asked as she looked at the spread-eagled figure with a pitiful expression. "It always used to pop out of its Pokeball when he was flirting with women."

Ash walked over to where Dawn was standing and also gazed down at the semi-conscious breeder. "When we left Sinnoh he swapped it for that very reason." He answered before turning to face the coordinator. "Which reminds me, Dawn seeing as you're going to be in the water section do you want swap your Quilava for Buizel?"

Dawn nodded vigorously, "That would be great, thanks!" she replied and they quickly exchanged Pokeballs.

May's punch seemed to have snapped Brock out of his lovesick trance and the breeder slowly picked himself up of the sand, massaging his jaw as he did so. "You didn't have to hit me quite so hard." He complained to May as he open and closed his mouth several times in order to check that nothing was broken.

"Well I'm not pulling you by the ear every time you see a pretty girl so stop flirting and you won't get punched." She explained bluntly.

Brock scowled. "It's not exactly something I can just ignore." He muttered as he brushed sand off of his clothes.

"Well try." May replied unsympathetically. "Do you see Ash, Gary, Drew and Ritchie proposing to women all the time?"

Brock snorted derisively. "That's hardly a fair comparison!" he remarked angrily. The rest of the group simply stared at him with bemused expressions so he continued. "Firstly, Gary would never commit to any sort of relationship, Drew may seem the ladies' man but is only interested in one person, Ritchie is far too shy to make moves on girls and I doubt Ash could tell you the difference between men and women."

There was a moments silence as the group absorbed the breeder's short rant. Like his explanations during Pokemon battles, Brock's comments about his friends were both concise and accurate.

Ritchie was the first to react. "I am not too shy to make moves on girls." He retorted indignantly.

"And what do you mean one girl?" Drew said vehemently, feeling that it wouldn't be seen as suspicious to protest the point seeing as Ritchie had objected first. He quickly glanced towards May to see if she had picked up on the comment but was relieved to see that she was watching Ash who was also challenging Brock's comments.

"I so do too know the difference between men and women!" Ash cried in an outraged tone.

Brock rolled his eyes at the three younger boys and smiled inwardly. Their reactions further proved that he was correct about them. "Anything you'd like to add Gary?" he asked, noticing the chestnut-haired boy's unusual lack of words.

Gary shook his head and looked at the breeder with a disinterested expression. "Not really, I think you described me perfectly." He replied frankly.

Brock sweat-dropped at the response, trust Gary to take his criticism as a compliment. He was unable to dwell on the matter as his thoughts were interrupted by Ash who was still talking, intent on proving that he could distinguish men from women.

"...just because I've never had a girlfriend or anything doesn't mean I am clueless about the opposite sex" He demanded angrily. "I just think about more interesting things."

"Oh yeah, like what?" Brock countered, intrigued to hear what another man would place before women in their list of priorities.

Ash hadn't been expecting to give an answer and shrugged. "I dunno...food."

The remaining six figures gazed at their friend with incredulity.

"Someone remind me why Ash was chosen to command over three thousand people!" Drew asked, only half joking.

In response to the jibe Ash kicked the waves that now submerged his ankles, propelling hundreds of droplets over the green-haired coordinator. "Because I'm the new Indigo League Champion! That's why!" the trainer stated pompously.

"Which you keep reminding us every five minutes!" Drew retorted, sending a wave of his own at Ash, causing Pikachu to evacuate his master's hat in favour of a dryer location. "And don't get sea water in my hair!" he added in an irritated voice.

"Aww is Drew worried about his hair?" May asked in a patronising tone, not wanting to miss an opportunity to tease her fellow coordinator. "You are such a wimp."

"Hey I'll have you know that girls love my hair; just because you don't care about your appearance doesn't mean others don't!" he countered with a sneer.

May, who hadn't exactly calmed down from her ordeal with Brock, squared up to the boy and exploded for the second time in five minutes. "Well any girl that likes you must have very low standards!" she roared in anger, ignoring the snort Dawn made at the hypocrisy of her words.

"Well at least I actually have girls trying to get with me, I don't see any guys who are attracted to you!" Drew shot back, not looking at any of his male companions whom he knew would be giving him incredulous looks.

May took a step closer to the green-haired boy and was about to answer back when Brock intervened. "Will you two cut it out!" he snapped, "Save your energy for beating Team Rocket tomorrow."

"Brock has got a point." Ritchie added. "Although I'd find it amusing to watch the two of you beat each other up - which for the record I think May would win - I don't think it would be in everyone's interests if the two of you killed each other on the night before our first battle." He said with an amused grin.

The pair of coordinators continued to glare at each other for a second before turning away with a simultaneous "Hmph."

"I'm glad that is settled. Man I thought we were all supposed to be friends." Brock continued.

"Technically I'm not friends with him, we are just mutual acquaintances of Ash." May retorted, sending a distasteful look towards Drew as she walked back and stood next to Dawn.

Brock cocked one eyebrow at the statement, "Oh and the year you two spent travelling around Johto was purely coincidental." He said sarcastically.

"We just happened to be travelling to the same contests." Drew said defensively but convincing no one.

Dawn rolled her eyes at the pair's behaviour. She struggled to understand how the two Hoenn natives failed to see what was so painfully obvious. She was about to make a comment of her own when suddenly she yawned loudly.

Ash caught the younger girl's tired gesture, triggering a yawn of his own. He hadn't realised it but the trip from Pallet Town to Cinnabar Island and all the preparation they had done for the impending battle had completely exhausted him. Deciding that it was time to call it a night he finally turned his back to the sea and looked at the group before him.

"I'm going to turn in for the night." He stated simply. "I suggest you guys get as much rest as you can, a lot will depend on us tomorrow and I can assure you, we're in for one wild day!"

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Will Ash and the Unit be able to stop Team Rocket? Keep reading to find out and as always please review!

Once again I apologies for the delay, I will post the next chapter super quick to make up for it! I know this chapter isn't great but it is necessary so that people's Pokemon and structure of the Unit are explain for the next one but I hope you enjoyed it none the less. The story kicks off from here guys so prepare yourself for lots and lots of action!

**Responses to reviews**

_tennisdesi91_ - I hope you like Paul he is going to be a massive figure in this story and if you think the tension is bad now, just keep reading.

_Ky111 - _Thanks again. I'm glad you like my portrayal of Ash. I think that by 18 most guys would recognise girls however i still want him to have that innocence when it comes to relationships. I tried to keep his views on girls in this chapter similar to the last one however I'm not sure if I pulled it off. I agree, hopefully Ash and Misty's meeting will be as good as you are expecting.

_dbzgtfan2004_ - Thanks for the review and I couldn't say it better myself. Go Ash and Misty!

_JcPikachu41 _- Thank you so much for this brilliant review, I can't tell you how happy it made me when I read it. All of the compliments and suggestions are so helpful!

_BrodyLee _- I'm sososososoSOSOSOSOSO sorrry for the long wait! I PROMISE to have the next chapter up in the next few days! Thank you for being so dedicated!


	7. The Battle Frontier

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Ok so I didn't post this chapter super quick like I promised and I am very very sorry for that! It is a long one with a lot of action so I hope I can redeem myself through that. Also I must apologies for a mistake in the previous chapter, I said Dawn had a Togetic when she actually has a Togekiss. Thank you to all of the fantastic reviewers once again, I have taken everyone's comments on board!

**In Love and War**

**Chapter 7: The Battle Frontier**

The next day proved to be just as glorious as its predecessors. The sun's rays glared down upon Cinnabar Island from a clear blue sky and a light breeze gently cooled the skin.

The tranquil setting however was completely ignored by the three thousand trainers and coordinators positioned on the southern most shore of Kanto's most popular tourist destination. Despite the calm lapping of the ocean and the lazy swaying of the palm trees, every eye was fixed upon the horizon and a dreadful tension hung in the silent air as they all gazed out in the direction of the Orange Islands.

Ash was no exception. Covered by the shade of his Pokemon League cap his chocolate brown eyes once again stared unblinkingly at the thin line between the sky and ocean. Only moments earlier the scouts Drake had sent out from his flying section had returned with the news that Team Rocket's invasion fleet was a mere four miles away and would arrive in approximately fifteen minutes. They had also reported that the force had numbered over one hundred vessels and although the trainer had no idea how many grunts were on each, it sounded like he wasn't going to have the most peaceful day.

As time slowly elapsed he found that his fear and nervousness from the night before was quickly draining away and being replaced by the all too familiar overconfidence, excitement and general disregard for personal safety that always filled him before a battle. It seemed that because the stakes were so much higher, his emotions had also become that much stronger. True; his unit was almost certainly outnumbered but he had survived many dangerous trials in his short life and he was eager to overcome this challenge.

For the first time in what felt like an eternity Ash tore his gaze away from the horizon and looked to his rear. With an uncontrollable grin stretching across his face he locked eyes with Brock and Drew, who had both chosen to be his subordinates. The older boy merely shook his head at his friend's all too familiar behaviour and although he couldn't see them Ash knew that the breeder was rolling his eyes. Drew on the other hand grinned back enthusiastically, adding a cheeky wink as he did so however, the smile on the coordinators face quickly vanished as his eyes shifted to something over Ash's left shoulder.

Before he had even turned back around Ash knew what he would see. Sure enough, as his gaze took up its accustomed position on the horizon, he noticed that the slightly curved blue line was broken by a tiny black dot. Even as he focused upon it more and more dots appeared with each passing second until it looked as if a dark wall had replaced one section of the horizon.

The sound of beating wings made him turn his head once more and he just had time to shield his eyes from a whirlwind of sand that was whipped up as a Pokemon landed next to him. Looking up he recognised the bright orange hide of Drake's Dragonite, its master sat comfortably on its long back.

"Not long now Ash, are you ready?" the Orange Crew Head Leader asked, his eyes constantly switching between the trainer beside him and the horizon.

Ash nodded in confirmation. "Is everyone in your section aware of the plan?" he questioned.

"As ready as they'll ever be," was all the response Drake gave.

"Good. Well in that case there is nothing more left for us to do accept wait for the party to begin," the raven-haired trainer joked.

With a slight grin the older man replied, "I guess so, I'm going to check with Danny and Rudy if they are ready so I'll see you after the battle. Good luck!"

"Yeah, you too," Ash managed to answer back before he once again was forced to cover his eyes as the mighty Dragonite launched itself into the air.

For a few seconds he watched the dragon-type pokemon fly swiftly down the beach before turning his attention back to the oncoming Rocket fleet. He could now make out the shapes of ships, rather than obscure dots, which were growing constantly bigger by the minute.

"It is time!" he muttered to himself as reached up and twisted his cap a hundred and eighty degrees so that it was in his traditional battle position. Then with both hands he detached the five pokeballs that were clipped to his belt.

"Everyone, let's go!" he shouted loudly, tossing all five balls high into the air, which were joined by Pikachu as the small mouse propelled itself from his shoulder.

Instantly the air was filled with the sound of similar cries as all along the beach and cliffs trainers and coordinators followed his lead and released their pokemon. The noise increased further to a deafening crescendo as over eighteen thousand pokemon materialised and bellowed their own challenges, stating that they were ready to fight.

Glancing both ways down the beach Ash was impressed to see that excluding the legendries, nearly every single species of pokemon that he knew of was present and there were even some that he failed to recognise.

He was annoyed by the fact that the League had been unable to revoke the rule that prevented trainers from carrying more than six pokemon. He had hoped that he and the rest of his Unit would be able to call on as many pokemon as they wanted. However, according to Bill and the League's top scientists, it would take months to re-programme the system that automatically teleported extra pokemon.

Looking around at his own team the raven-haired trainer nodded with satisfaction at the selection he had made the previous day. Staring back at him were the familiar faces of Heracross, Infernape, Donphan and of course, Pikachu. As replacements for the missing Staraptor and Buizel, Dawn had given him temporary use of her Quilava and Gary had provided his Umbreon. Although Ash was not too entirely sure about the strengths of his two borrowed pokemon he was confident that his team could handle anything Team Rocket could throw against him.

Admittedly at first glance his pokemon didn't exactly look big or powerful but he had always had a way of getting them to perform to the best of their abilities, and after all, hadn't he become the Indigo League Champion with the help of four of the creatures in front of him.

"Are you guys ready?" he asked, looking at each Pokemon in turn.

There was a chorus of cries in confirmation and sparks flew from Pikachu's cheeks.

"Awesome!" he replied with a smile. "You have to remember that there aren't any rules to this battle, so stay sharp and watch each other's' backs ok?"

Again his team confirmed that they understood and his grin changed to a look of determination. "Alright, let's give these crooks something to –"

"Ash, look!" Brock suddenly shouted, interrupting the trainer's speech.

Ash spun to look at his friend and then quickly turned in the direction that the breeder's outstretched arm was pointing. Of course the rock-type trainer was pointing to the fast approaching Team Rocket fleet but apart from being closer the raven-haired boy couldn't make out anything different.

However, as he continued to watch the ships he noticed that there were dozen's, no hundreds, of tiny white flashes flickering on their decks. As if by magic numerous dots appeared in the sky, accompanied by just as many splashes in the sea.

For a second the trainer was confused by what he was seeing but after a moment realisation dawned upon him. "They are releasing their flying and water type Pokemon!" he shouted to no one in particular.

Sure enough, the forms of thousands of pokemon began to materialise as they advanced towards the island. The sight reminded Ash of the time he had spent on Shamouti Island when countless pokemon from around the world had converged on the island in order to help him restore stability to the different elements of fire, ice and lightning. This time however, he doubted that the creatures heading towards the beach would be quite so willing to cooperate with him.

The flying type pokemon were the first to reach the shore and hundreds of birds, insects, bats and dragons blacken the sky, casting ominous shadows that raced across the beach. Their cries filled the air, creating an intimidating cacophony that made Ash feel more than slightly vulnerable down on the beach. The raven-haired trainer looked up to the cliff tops behind him expecting to see Drake and his flying type section rising up into the sky to battle their Team Rocket counterparts. However, to his confusion, he saw that they remained waiting on the cliff's edge, merely watching the massive swarm.

His puzzled features quickly turned to ones of understanding as all of a sudden, not flying Pokemon, but hundreds of Razor-Leaf attacks rose from the cliff tops. Ash instantly realised why Professor Ivy had wanted grass types up on the cliffs as their Razor Leaf attacks sent thousands of high velocity leaves ripping through the air and provided excellent anti-aircraft flack.

Team Rocket's flying Pokemon and the grunts that rode them were caught completely off guard by the sudden assault. Many didn't see the deadly leaves until they smashed into their targets, filling the air with cries of surprise and pain as dozens were hit.

Ash looked on in awe at the sheer scale and effectiveness of the attack. Even as he watched a Golbat then a Murkrow and then ten more pokemon fell from the sky and crashed into the sea or ground after being knockout by the green projectiles.

He was forced to quickly dive out of the way as a Venamoth swooped down low over the beach to avoid the lethal barrage. Immediately his battle instinct took control and springing back to his feet he pointed towards the poison-type Pokemon.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt it!" he shouted loudly and watched as the small mouse expertly zapped the Venamoth, causing it to faint and fall to the beach. Ash nodded in satisfaction at the result, he was on the scoreboard.

Glancing around, he saw that he was not the only trainer on the beach taking part in the action. Any Team Rocket pokemon that flew too close to the ground was instantly bombarded by attacks from pokemon on the beach as well as the deadly razor leaves.

The one-sided nature of the battle was quickly brought to an end as the remaining Team Rocket pokemon ascended higher into the sky where even the razor leaf attacks couldn't reach them. They hovered and circled high in the air, unwilling to venture closer to the beach and back into the range of the grass types.

Sensing the stalemate, the grass pokemon on the cliff tops ceased their assault and after a brief pause, Drake's flying section finally took to the skies. The sight of so many pokemon taking off reminded Ash of the many times he and his friends had disturbed swarms of Beedrill from their nests in trees.

Seeing that the razor leaf attacks had stopped the Team Rocket flying-types dived back down to engage Drake's section. Instantly the sky was filled with hundreds of individual battles and dogfights as the pokemon on both sides, dived, looped and spiralled in order to attack their opponents.

Ash grinned as he caught sight of Gary sat astride the magnificent Aerodactyl, barrel-rolling to avoid a wing attack from a Zubat. If it hadn't been for the terrible violence the raven-haired trainer would have thought it one of the most incredible sights he had ever seen.

"Hey Ash, get your head out of the clouds, we've got a battle down here to fight," Drew shouted in is ear, pulling Ash back to the situation on the beach.

Glancing back to the shore the raven-haired trainer was horrified to see that the first of Team Rocket's landing crafts had already arrived and were about to land on the beach. Their water pokemon must have been ahead of the crafts as they were currently engaged in hundreds of small battles with Rudy's water-type section, which were just as brutal as the ones going on in the sky above.

Turning back to face Drew, Brock and any other trainers that were near him he shouted loudly above the noise. "Ok, now it is our turn! Go in hard and fast, we can't let Team Rocket take any ground so make sure you strike them before they strike you. Now, let's win this war!"

A small cheer rose up from those that could hear his little speech and Ash nodded with satisfaction. Confident that he had some support with him he turned his attention back to the oncoming landing crafts. He locked onto the nearest vessel and with a command to his pokemon to follow him, started running towards it.

He was halfway to his target when the landing vessel's ramp began to lower to the beach. The big metal panel sent up a large splash as it crashed down in the shallow water and out poured fifty or so grunts who immediately began throwing their pokeballs into the air. Ash instantly knew that he, Drew, Brock and the dozen or so trainers and coordinators that had followed him were outnumbered and so going with his instinct, he made a move to make things even.

"Everybody, attack Team Rocket's pokemon as the come out of their Pokeballs, hit them before they have a chance to attack!" he ordered at the top of his voice, silently praying that his pokemon would be quick enough.

White light flashed all around him as the grunts' pokemon emerged from their pokeballs but before many of them could even take in their surroundings they were set upon by Ash's Pokemon. A Raticate and Sandslash never knew what hit them as Donphan and Inferape, using Rollout and Flame Wheel attacks, instantly knocked them out. Heracross took out a surprised Koffing with its Horn Attack just as quickly, whilst Dawn's Quilava torched a Gloom with its flamethrower. Gary's Umbreon delivered a tackle attack to a Drowzee with a force that surprised Ash, but of course Pikachu had to go one better by frying an unfortunate Ekans and Grimer with its Thunder attack.

The onslaught was over as quickly as it had started and due to the fact that the other trainers and coordinators with Ash had followed his lead, the Team Rocket grunts found to their utter horror and amazement that they had lost half of their pokemon within the first ten seconds of the battle. However, with the element of surprise gone the small group of trainers found themselves face to face with a lot of angry looking grunts who were eager to retaliate.

There was a moment's pause as the two sides weighed each other up before Ash remembered what he had said about striking first. Letting his instincts take over once more he focused his attention on the nearest grunt and ordered off a string of commands to his pokemon.

"Pikachu use Iron-tail on that Geodude, Inferape and Quilava attack that Weepingbell with flamethrower and Umbreon, use tackle again on the Rattata on the left!"

Without a second's hesitation his pokemon launched themselves into action. The sudden burst of activity broke the deadlock and the two sides sprang into battle, filling the air with shouts, cries and explosions.

Even as the engagement began Ash was looking for his next opponent as the grunt he was currently battling only had three Pokemon left after the initial surprise attack. However, it was his turn to be caught off guard as before his pokemon could deal with the first grunt, a second confronted him with full complement of six Houndours. With an evil smirk the second grunt commanded each of his half fire half dark-type pokemon to attack one of Ash's pokemon and they immediately leapt at their targets.

The raven-haired trainer was about to complain about the unfairness of a two against one battle until he remembered that he was fighting a war; a war against Team Rocket who had never had a problem with any inequality. Gritting his teeth and letting out a frustrated snarl he tried to regain the upper hand.

Ordering the inactive Donphan and Heracross to meet two of the Hourdours head on, he turned his attention back to his four other Pokemon who were about to get attacked from behind.

"Pikachu, Quilava, Inferape, Umbreon, look out!" he cried, hoping that they would see the dog-like pokemon in time.

Pikachu, who was triumphantly sitting atop the Geodude it had just knocked out, heard its master's warning and spun to look at the Houndour bearing down on it. With a calmness that was entirely inappropriate for the situation it curiously watched the dog pokemon pounce high into air, its neck bent to deliver a powerful Headbutt attack. The little yellow pokemon waited until the last possible second before it casually hoped off of the unconscious rock-type pokemon, landing on the beach with a sly smile. Unfortunately for the Houndour it could not change its direction in mid air and careered head first into rock hard Geodude, knocking it out with a loud thump.

Gary's Umbreon managed to avoid the bite attack of one Houndour by using agility however Ash's two fire-type pokemon were not so lucky. Both had been preoccupied with burning the Weepingbell to a crisp and therefore did not see the tackle attacks launched by the two dog-like pokemon. Dawn's Quilava managed to brace itself and absorb most of the attack however Inferape was taken completely by surprise. The monkey-like pokemon was caught square in the back and was sent flying across the sand, howling with pain and shock.

With the surprise attack over Ash had a chance to assess the battlefield once more. Donphan and Heracross were locked in fierce battles between their respective Houndours, Umbreon and Quilava were squaring up to their opponents, Infernape was about to be attacked again by the Houndour and Pikachu was sitting on both of its defeated opponents with a look of casual amusement.

"C'mon Pikachu, quit fooling around and help out Donphan and Heracross!" he shouted, chastising the electric type pokemon. Pikachu turned to its trainer and grinned sheepishly before darting off to help its friends. Ash shook his head in bewilderment. That pokemon really needed to start taking things seriously.

Focusing his attention back onto the battle he called out more commands. "Infernape, quickly use Flamewheel to dodge that Houndour, Umbreon, try a Take Down attack and Quilava use Flamethrower!"

Ash looked on with a mixture of determination and frustration as his pokemon obeyed his orders. The numerous commands he had to give had started to make his head hurt. Two on two battles were difficult enough, let alone six on six!

Although the Team Rocket grunts were far tougher than amateur pokemon trainers, they weren't exactly the calibre he was used to and the raven-haired trainer knew that he would have had less than six pokemon remaining by now had he been facing more experienced battlers. Non-the less this wasn't exactly Ash's idea of a walk in the park.

Fortunately, Gary's Umbreon had knocked out one of the Houndours and with Pikachu's help, Heracross and Donphan had easily overcome their opponents. Faced with a six on two situation, the grunt suddenly realised that the battle was effectively over and whipped out a pair of pokeballs to call back his remaining pokemon. The first Houndour entered its pokeball successfully but just before the second could be returned it was struck by Quilava's Flamethrower. Its cry of pain was cut short as it was transformed into a flash of red light but Ash knew that he had effectively taken out one more of the grunt's pokemon.

With a mixture of fear, anger and confusion the grunt quickly clipped his pokeballs back onto his belt before spinning on his heal and making a dash for the sea, leaving his four unconscious pokemon lying where they had fallen. He was immediately joined by the first grunt Ash had defeated and the raven-haired trainer watched in amusement as the pair splashed into the ocean and began to swim towards the landing craft they had arrived on. He wondered if they would reach the vessel as it had already turned around and was heading back to Team Rocket's fleet.

This time Ash was not instantly set upon by another grunt and he allowed himself and his pokemon a short pause to catch their breath. Despite being surrounded by explosions and cries he couldn't prevent a small grin from claiming his lips. He had just defeated no fewer than thirteen Rocket pokemon without the loss of one of his own. Even if he was the regional Champion, that was still pretty impressive. He'd just have to make sure he mentioned it to Ritchie.

Unfortunately his comrades had not been quite as efficient as he. Surveying the numerous small battles raging around him the raven-haired trainer noted a mixture of success. Drew, who was only several meters away, appeared to be easily handling a pair of grunts in his usual calm and self-confident manner and Brock, who was only a little further away, had formed a small group with half a dozen other trainers that seemed to be coping well enough against twice as many Grunts. However, Ash saw that at least five trainers had become isolated in the current chaos and were on the verge of being overwhelmed by the grunts.

Targeting the nearest one, a man in his early twenties who was outnumbered three Pokemon to seven by two grunts, Ash dashed over and commanded all six of his Pokemon to attack.

The grunts didn't stand a chance, the surprise attacks immediately knocked out all but one of their pokemon. The raven-haired trainer almost laughed out loud as he watched the two grunts' expressions change from ones of certain triumph to those of utmost horror in a matter of seconds.

Using the sudden turn of events the other man wasted no time in dispatching the last of the opposing Pokemon. With their teams completely wiped out the two grunts turned tail and sprinted away down the beach. Ash assumed they would try to get on a landing craft that hadn't already turned around but he wasted no time thinking about it.

"Wow, thanks a lot! For a moment there I was sure they had me beaten."

Ash turned to face the man he had just helped. Although he was pleased by the praise he knew there was no time to make small talk.

"Don't mention it. Anyway we'd better go help the others, are you still ok to fight?" The raven-haired boy glanced over at the trainer's Machoke, Girafarig and Pinsir, all of which were looking pretty worn out.

"I may be down to half strength but my team and I will keep battling for as long as we can!" the man replied defiantly, not wanting to seem weak in front of the Champion.

Ash nodded in approval at the man's determination. "All right then, come with me and follow my lead!"

Despite being at least eight years older, the man made no objections to being told what to do by a teenager. Privately he had held some reservations about being commanded by such a young trainer but after seeing the Champion in action, those doubts had been quashed.

Together the pair ran the short distance down the beach to where Brock and his small group of trainers were ferociously battling fifteen grunts. The air was filled with countless flashes, explosions and commands and Ash guessed that there were at least fifty pokemon all dodging, sprinting and charging to get the advantage over their adversaries.

Because there were so many constantly moving pokemon Ash found it hard to tell which pokemon belong to his own side and which belonged to Team Rocket. Fortunately if he looked closely enough he was able to discern Team Rocket's pokemon from the rest.

He hadn't noticed it when the grunts had first landed on the beach but as he had been battling Ash realised that all of Team Rocket's Pokemon had dark patches around their eyes and looked as if they were scowling. The effect wasn't too dissimilar to when Butch and Cassidy had turned pokemon against their trainers using a Drowzee on Mandarin Island.

It wasn't exactly a flashing neon sign but it was enough for him to tell who was friend and who was foe. With that Ash launched himself into the middle of the raging conflict and without hesitation went on the offensive. A Grunt spotted him and ordered his Venonat and Nidorino to attack however, the raven-haired trainer was too fast and with rapid commands to Infernape and Quilava the bug and poison type pokemon were left smoking after being consumed by a flamethrower attacks.

Ash was devastating. Eight years of pokemon training and adventures had taught him to adapt with lightning speed to any situation. He kept moving, stringing off command after command to his pokemon who were just as quick and clinical as their trainer, showing just why the raven-haired boy had become the youngest Champion ever.

One, two, then five, then twelve Team Rocket pokemon were left sprawled in the sand after being on the wrong end of his Pokemon's attacks and still he kept searching for new targets.

Within several of minutes he began to notice that there were fewer Team Rocket pokemon around him. The Grunts must have also noticed this phenomenon as their shouts to their pokemon and each other became increasingly desperate. After a few more frantic minutes one grunt clearly decided that he had had enough and recalled his pokemon before fleeing down the beach.

Panic seemed to spread like wild fire among the members of Team Rocket and a ripple seemed to spread through them as they hesitated. Soon the first was quickly joined by another grunt, then another and another until all the grunts that had been battling were sprinting away, kicking up sand and tripping over each other in their haste to escape.

A cheer rose up from the trainers around Ash and he grinned along with them at the small victory. He wasn't exactly sure where the retreating grunts would run to as nearly all of the landing craft and begun the journey back to the main fleet in order to pick up the second wave but he knew that wasn't important right now.

"Ash, I'm taking a group of trainers back to the Pokemon Centre."

Brock's voice cut through his thoughts and he looked over at the small gathering of people that the breeder was indicating. They had no pokemon with them and the raven-haired trainer realised that it wasn't just Team Rocket's pokemon that had suffered casualties. Many of them were looking shocked at what they had just experienced however a few had expressions of anger and Ash knew they would be frustrated by the fact that with no pokemon, they could take no further part in the battle.

As he scrutinised the group more closely he saw that some of the trainers had injuries themselves. One man had his right arm wrapped in his T-shirt as a makeshift sling and a young woman was forced to lean on her friend in order to walk. Most of them had scratches on their arms and faces where they had been caught by an attack and looking down at his arms he noticed several red marks of his own.

"Alright but make it quick, we need you down here Brock," Ash replied, looking back at his friend.

Brock nodded before turning and leading the group in the direction of the cliffs. The raven-haired trainer watched them for a few seconds before facing the remaining trainers. They were all looking back at him and Ash realised that they were waiting for some sort of instruction. Not wanting to waste too much time he barked out a few lines.

"Right, you now know what to expect! Stay in groups of three or four and you shouldn't have too many problems. If you do lose all of your Pokemon head back to the pokemon centre immediately, I don't want anyone getting hurt for no reason. Now, let's go make more of these criminals run!" With that the group disintegrated as pairs and trios ran off in different directions.

Ash was about head off to find some more opponents of his own when Drew caught him by the arm. "This is bad Ash," the coordinator said with a grim expression, "Team Rocket isn't messing about, they're targeting trainers as well as pokemon. People are going to get hurt."

Ash sighed and nodded in acknowledgement, he too had noticed the syndicate's ferocity. "I know but what can we do about it?" he replied resignedly.

Drew grimaced in response, "I don't know but we have to win this battle quickly or people are going to suffer badly," he answered forebodingly. "How many Pokemon do you still have?"

"All six," Ash replied a bit more enthusiastically, "You?"

Drew grinned. "All six as well," he said in his usual cocky tone before adding. "Do you want to pair up?"

Ash thought about the coordinator's suggestion for a moment before shaking his head reluctantly. As good as it would be to have someone such as Drew battling alongside him he knew that other people needed them more. "I can take care of myself," he explained quickly, "we should split up and help less able trainers."

Drew nodded and the words. "No problem," he replied, "I wouldn't want to upstage you in front of all of these people anyway!"

Ash scoffed at the jibe but before he could reply the green-haired coordinator had flashed one last cheeky grin before dashing away with his pokemon. The trainer watched the retreating figure go with a look of defeat. Why had he ever introduced Drew to Gary? Shaking his head to clear his thoughts Ash turned his attention back to the matter at hand. With a command to his pokemon he turned and started hurrying down the beach in the opposite direction to which Drew had taken.

Despite being extremely fit from his travels, after the relentless excursions of the past few battles every breath he took burned its way down his throat. He longed to stop and rest for a couple of minutes but he knew that the other trainers and coordinators would be looking to him for an example and with the battle raging more ferociously than ever, it would be unwise to lose even a little concentration.

Non-the less he allowed himself a short pause in order to assess the situation and gritted his teeth in frustration at what he saw. Things were not progressing well for his forces. Between the flashes of electricity, bursts of fire and explosions of numerous attacks, Ash could see that the black clad figures of the grunts had firmly asserted themselves on the beach and were beginning to advance towards the cliffs and the rest of Cinnabar Island.

Willing himself to remain calm the raven-haired trainer tried to take a more positive view. His trainers and coordinators were still fighting well and he could discern no panic among them. It was hard to tell how the battles in the sea and air were going but in both places he thought he could see more of his forces than the enemy. On a more personal note it gave him enormous satisfaction to see that he still had all six of his pokemon remaining, which was more than he could say for the majority of people fighting, both on his side and Team Rockets.

"Pikapi! Pika Pika!" The sound of Pikachu's voice ripped through his thoughts like a slash attack. From the urgent tone he knew it was a warning and with a quick turn of the head he glanced at the little mouse. Pikachu was pointing up to the sky and he followed the direction of the tiny paw.

Ash felt the blood drain from his head in fear as his gaze locked onto the red and white features of an Electrode. The orb like Pokemon must have been dropped from one of Team Rocket's flying pokemon, its explosion attack making it the perfect bomb. Already it was beginning to glow, powering itself up in preparation to detonate just as it hit the ground.

For a moment Ash remained stationary, admiring Team Rocket for thinking of such a clever tactic and berating himself for not coming up with the idea himself. However, despite his usual disregard for personal safety his self-preservation kicked in and he allowed his instincts to take control.

"Everybody run and get down!" he screamed at his six Pokemon, who scattered in all directions at his words.

Ash took four long strides before throwing his body harshly down onto the sand, not caring as the wind was knocked out of him. A fraction of a second later there was a deafening boom as the Electrode completed its attack. He couldn't tell whether it was the heat of the blast or the whip of the sand that had been thrown up that seared his skin but whatever it was, it hurt.

The explosion was over as quickly as it had begun, leaving only a roaring sound that pounded his ears. With a groan Ash heaved himself to his feet, ignoring the pain from his winded stomach as it protested against the movement.

Looking around he could see the black smoking figure of the Electrode lying unconscious after the attack. Scattered around him his Pokemon were also slowly righting themselves, looking just as shaken as he felt. Ash knew they had been lucky. The sand had absorbed most of the force from the explosion, sending the shockwaves down into the ground.

Once agian Ash realised that he and the other trainers around him could get seriously injured in the conflict. Team Rocket had shown that they were as willing to attack humans as they were pokemon and with terrible comprehension the raven-haired trainer knew that trainers on both sides would not survive the day.

Suddenly a bark to his right caused him to spin around and his eyes widened in shock as he registered a wild Houndoom racing straight towards him, its teeth bared in a feral snarl.

Ash knew he had no time to run but it would be suicide to fight the Pokemon himself. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" he cried in desperation but he knew that his little companion was too far away to come to his aid after running from the Electrode.

With a grimace he clenched his fists and braced himself as the dog like creature launched itself towards him, its jaws open to attack. Just as Ash expected the dark body to crash into him, a black blur collided into the flank of the Houndoom with a loud crunch, altering its direction so it went skidding across the sand, missing him by inches.

Astonishment crossed Ash's features as he saw that it was Gary's Umbreon that had saved him, using its Quick Attack with surprising speed. However, the small furry pokemon had become tangled up with the Houndoom and as the larger pokemon recovered from its shock, it set upon its assailant with an incensed savagery.

The distraction allowed Pikachu enough time to dart over and release its Thunderbolt attack however, the crackling bolts of electricity could not reach the Houndoom before it could deliver a final Headbutt attack, sending Umbreon flying.

Ash dashed over to the motionless figure and let out a cry of anger and grief as he saw that the creature had fainted. With several curses under his breath he returned the Pokemon to its ball and made a mental note to thank it later.

He was given no time to dwell on the matter as he immediately found himself under attack once more, this time from the sky. A group of Zubats, Golbats and Crobats had detached themselves from the main aerial combat and were diving down the beach towards him.

Ash wasn't worried, he knew Pikachu could reduce them to smoking objects with just one Thunder attack and his other pokemon were just as effective. The group of bats swooped down low so they were flying parallel to the beach at a height of only five meters, straight towards him.

The trainer didn't panic. Without ordering them, his Pokemon positioned themselves into a line, showing the experience and discipline of years of training and waited for their master's command.

"Now!" Ash hollered, grinning slightly as his Pokemon let lose their attacks. Heracross unleashed a powerful Hyper Beam that instantly took out a Crobat and a Golbat, whilst the twin Fire Spins from Infernape and Quilava incinerated three opponents.

With the type advantage Pikachu was the most effective as usual and its Thundershock attack shot multiple bolts through the air, striking five of the bat like creatures.

Although Donphan was restricted to ground attacks, its rollout sent such a volume of sand up into the air that the rest of flying pokemon were confronted by a golden wall that sent them spiralling out of control if they touched it.

Such was the ferocity of the attacks that Ash called for his Pokemon to stop after only several seconds and the group waited in silence for the spiralling grains of sand to clear in order to assess their work.

Without warning the falling sand suddenly parted and a burnt and scarred Crobat darted towards them! Before pokemon or trainer could react the flying type released a supersonic attack, the light blue rings striking Heracross square in the face.

Ash could only stand and watch in appalled horror as the eyes of the bug type glazed over and the confusion set in. Cursing under his breath he recalled the pokemon knowing that it was just as likely to hurt itself or his other Pokemon if left in its current state of mind.

The raven-haired trainer felt a wave of fury up inside him and fought the urge to shout out loud. Ten minutes ago he had been congratulating himself on having all six of his Pokemon fighting fit but now, after two stupid attacks that he should have easily dealt with, he was down to just four.

How had he let this happen! He, the Indigo league Champion, the most powerful trainer in the Kanto region, excluding the Elite Four, had lost pokemon to weak Team Rocket grunts.

Forcing himself to calm down he observed the surviving members of his team. They at least looked fresh and ready to go despite a few scratches they had earned during their earlier skirmishes.

Yet he knew that their energy couldn't last forever and time was certainly not on the trainer's side. Team Rocket's landing craft were already heading back towards the beach, their holds packed full of fresh grunts with fresh pokemon that would form the second wave of the invasion.

Ash's forces hadn't even cleared the first wave yet and he knew that the trainers and coordinators would be forced back towards the cliffs when the second wave arrived. It wasn't that he doubted the skill or determination of his Unit but the sheer numbers of grunts would quickly swarm up the beach and eventually overwhelm them.

They could retreat…

As soon as the idea entered his mind he dismissed and shook his head, angry with himself for conceiving the thought in the first place. There was no way he would ever run from Team Rocket. He had not done it in eight years of encounters with the organisation and he would not do it now, even if it meant certain defeat.

By now the landing crafts were forcing there way through the ongoing battles of the water Pokemon and getting ready to unload grunts once more. Ash looked around for any available trainers or coordinators to help him but this time he was alone. The closest people to him were at least fifty metres away and engaged intensely in battle.

With grim determination Ash lined himself up with one of the landing craft and waited patiently for the vessel to arrive. This time there would be no wild charge into the grunts as he would be immediately surrounded and his Pokemon picked off. He knew that he would be defeated eventually as even he could not hold off fifty grunts at once. However, by staying where he was and letting them come to him, they would suffer a devastating barrage from his pokemon before they finally finished him off.

With a loud grating sound the metal hull of the landing craft scraped its way along the sand as it reached the beach before finally coming to a halt. After a short pause the metal gangway at the front of the craft crashed down onto the sand and as expected, the black clad figures pounded down it.

At first they did not see the lone trainer with four pokemon waiting for them and they quickly spread out, throwing their pokeballs in the air to release their own creatures. Yet as the initial commotion died down one of the grunts let out a cry to his comrades and immediately pointed out the Champion.

Ash saw recognition appear on the faces of the grunts as they realised whom they were facing. Their expressions quickly changed to sneers as they worked out that they had the chance to defeat the Indigo League Champion. He knew that they would already be imagining the boastful speeches they would make to their superiors as they bragged about how they defeated Ash Ketchum.

Although the outcome was inevitable the raven-haired trainer was not prepared to give his opponents any more advantages and launched straight into the attack. "Pikachu, use Thunder! Infernape, Flamethrower! Donphan, Hyper Beam! And Quilava attack with Fire Blast!" he roared at the top his voice.

He did not pick any individual targets as he knew his pokemon would identify the most important threats themselves, but also a small part of him did not care if his attacks struck the grunts as well. He gritted his teeth and watched as the attacks tore through the enemy ranks sending pokemon and Grunts sprawling.

He nodded with satisfaction as Donphan's Hyper Beam blew a Sandslash off of its feet and a Dodrio sent tumbling head over heals as it succumbed to the power of Pikachu's electricity. Scores of Team Rocket's Pokemon collapsed to the sand and lay still as they made their way towards the terrifying group that would not allow them onto the beach.

Even so, Ash could not stop the advance. Even as one of his pokemon knocked out an opponent, two more would take its place in a never-ending precession. When the grunts were no more than ten meters away, the young trainer new it was the end and prepared to give his final commands. With savage snarl he sucked air deep into his lungs and opened his mouth to let out one last cry of defiance.

The loud whooping sound that followed however, did not originate from his lips, but instead came from behind and above him. The sound caused the grunts to stagger to a halt and Ash followed their line of sight as they gazed at the patch of sky directly behind him.

A mixture of relief and awe flooded Ash's features as he caught sight of the distraction. A group of six pokemon were diving out of the sky at a terrifying velocity directly towards him. The creatures were arranged in the V formation that flocks of Farfetch'd used when they migrated south and at its point, in the leader's position, was the great grey form of an Aerodactyl.

Ash grinned uncontrollably as Gary sped towards him and let out another adrenaline-fuelled shout. The chestnut-haired boy looked as calm as ever as he briefly turned in his seat to order commands to the rest of his team and Ash recognised his Staraptor and Dawn's Togekiss among them.

Although he knew they would never hit him, the raven-haired trainer ducked instinctively as the six pokemon raced over his head. Ash just had time to spin around and follow their path before Gary gave the command to attack.

The Team Rocket grunts were caught completely by surprise as they too had been gaping in astonishment at the new arrivals. Out in the open and packed together as they prepared to attack Ash, the Rocket members and their pokemon didn't stand a chance. The attacks from Gary's pokemon tore through them in great soaves and cries of pain and terror joined the already deafening sounds of attacks.

The noise stopped for a moment as the researcher and his team over flew their targets and banked around to strafe the grunts once more. Ash gazed at the chaos before him, amazed by the sudden change of events. However, knowing that he wasn't safe just yet he ordered his own pokemon to continue their attacks.

The raven-haired trainer had to give the Grunts some credit as they tried in vain to organise themselves and retaliate. It was hopeless despite their numbers. With Ash in front of them and Gary flying in from behind the grunts didn't know which way to aim and panic quickly began to spread through them. As the flying types ripped through them once more their moral broke and many start running to escape the deadly onslaught.

Ash was so caught up in with directing his pokemon to attack that he missed Aerodactyl's hyper beam until it was almost too late. The orange beam of light was tearing a smoking path through the sand in a line that passed directly through the Champion. At the last second the trainer turned and saw the danger and after enough time for a look of horror to register on his features, he threw himself down into the sand for the second time that day.

Spluttering as he tried to spit the tiny grains from his mouth, Ash heaved himself back to his feat and stared daggers after the retreating figure of the prehistoric pokemon and his oldest, so called, friend. He wasn't sure if he was just being paranoid but over the racket going on around him he could swear he heard guffaws of laughter emanating from the chestnut-haired boy.

By now all of the grunts were scurrying down the beach in different directions leaving only their injured pokemon and comrades behind. Ash's own pokemon had continued their attacks throughout the entire ordeal but the raven-haired trainer finally gave the order to stop, unwilling to pursue any of the fleeing figures. In response all four of his pokemon flopped to the ground, utterly exhausted after the relentless battle.

Ash surveyed the carnage before him. There were dozens of pokemon and grunts lying in the sand, moaning with pain as they tried to move their battered bodies. A few of the bodies were unnaturally still and the raven-haired trainer tried to ignore these as his eyes swept over them.

A movement further down the beach to his right caught his attention and he once again recognised Aerodactyl as it swooped down low and landed on the sand. Eager to get away from the pitiful scene before him Ash jogged down the beach towards the creature, his pokemon following him reluctantly.

By the time the trainer had covered the distance between them, Gary had already dismounted from the fossil pokemon and was waiting with his arms folded across his chest. Ash was about to thank is friend for saving him, but just as he was about to utter the words the taste of sand reminded him of the incident with the hyper beam.

"Are you crazy?" he bellowed at the other boy, "You almost killed me back there!"

Gary showed no surprise at being shouted at and instead looked at his fuming friend with a hint of amusement. "You know Ash; normally people would thank the person who just had just saved them from total disaster and humiliation."

"Thank you?" Ash repeated as if the idea had never occurred to him. "Thank you for what? For nearly frying me to a crisp? For making me swallow half the beach? Besides, you knew perfectly well where Aerodactyl's Hyper Beam was directed"

"Are you saying that I did that on purpose? Ash I'm offended that you would think me capable of such a thing," Gary replied in a hurt tone, whilst desperately trying not to laugh.

Ash did not believe the chestnut-haired boy for one second but before he could make any sort of retort another flying pokemon landed by Aerodactyl. The two boys were surprised to see that the new arrival was a Dragonite, causing the pair to quickly forget their little quarrel.

Drake and Brock immediately dismounted the mighty dragon pokemon and joined their contemporaries on the beach. The Orange League leader had a nasty cut on his left cheek but otherwise the pair seemed untouched by the conflict. After explaining that he had picked Brock up from the Pokemon Centre the dark-haired man turned to face Ash with a worried expression.

"Ash, Team Rocket have too many men, we can't hold them off for much longer!" he said in a desperate voice.

Ash shook his head defiantly, "Your wrong we can hold them, we just need a new plan," he demanded.

"No Ash! We can't hold them!" Drake repeated, "This second wave has us completely outnumbered, the right flank has nearly been overwhelmed!"

"He's right Ash!" Brock interjected, "The Pokemon Centre is already packed with injured Pokemon and trainers!"

Ash was shocked. He knew that his unit were struggling to hold their ground but he had no idea that they were in such a bad position. He scanned the beach around him and although he could still see hundreds of his comrades battling around him, it was easy to tell that were more black figures than trainers.

Focusing his attention back to the group before him Ash looked at Gary, who seemed to be just as stunned as he was, and then back to Drake. For a moment the trainer was silent before finally asking, "So what do you suggest we do now."

Ash already knew what Drake was going to say but it still surprised him to hear the word out loud.

"Retreat"

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

DUN DUN DUUUNNN! What will Ash and the unit do now? Can they prevent disaster and beat Team Rocket or will they lose the war before it has even begun? You all know you will have to keep reading to find out and a review would be nice too!

**Responses to reviews**

_reminiscent-afterthought_ - I really appreciate this review, you have given me some great ideas to work with and it is always great to hear how I can improve my writing.

_Ky111_ - Thank you, that is what I hoped to hear. I'm glad you are still enjoying the story and if you have any more comments or ideas please throw them my way as they have been really helpful!

_Looseyourself - _Lots of Ash and Misty is just around the corner. I know I am dragging it out but I will more than make up for it later in the story!

_tennisdesi91 _- Thanks, I'm really trying hard on Ash and Gary's relationship so I'm pleased that you think it is going well.

_Tiara_ - I really hope you can picture this story in the anime, that's how I'm doing it.

_tiarapikachu _- (Not sure whether you are the same person as the review above) I'm very sorry that this chapter didn't come quickly but I shall try to up my pace just for you. I'm honored that you think that, I just hope I can keep living up to expectations.

_sortofbored -_ I hope my story is making you sort of interested. I promise that there will be lots and lots of Ash and Misty in the chapters to follow!


	8. Believe In Me

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Hey guys, I hope I haven't kept everyone waiting too long for this chapter, I'm trying very hard to keep to my update every two weeks rule. This chapter is for all of you Misty lovers. I know she hasn't been a major character in the story thus far but that will change from now on. As usual, thanks for all of the wonderful reviews!

**In Love and War**

**Chapter 8: Believe In Me**

Misty gripped the giant white fin on Gyarados' back tightly in frustration as the large water-type pokemon ploughed its way through the sea. Had she known it would take such a long time to make the crossing from Pallet Town to Cinnabar Island the redhead would have asked Professor Oak for a flying Pokemon to make the trip instead. She was still seething from the heavy delay that had meant she had arrived at the Professor's ranch just hours after Ash and his Unit had left and the long voyage was not helping her temper.

As was usually the case, Misty had her sisters to blame for her current anger. She had known that Ash and his Unit would not be in Pallet Town for long and had allowed Daisy and herself just the one day after Lance's call to pack their belongings before setting off the following morning. Much to her surprise, Daisy kept to the appointed schedule and they were ready to leave for the Cerulean City train station with just under an hour to spare. However, just as the pair were bidding farewell to their two remaining siblings, Lily and Violet had casually let slip that they had no idea how to take care of the Gym whilst she was away.

The redhead had exploded at her two older siblings however, after fifteen minutes of informing her sisters of how incompetent they were, had realised that she did not know how long she would be away and needed to show the pair what to do. Therefore, she had spent the remainder of the day instructing the two women on how to clean the pool, feed the remaining pokemon, wash out the tanks and do countless other things that needed to be done. By the time she had finished the time was late into evening and she reluctantly decided that she and Daisy would have to leave the next day.

With nothing to hinder them, the two Waterflower sisters managed to depart Cerulean City on the fourth day after the criminal organisations had launched their invasions. Despite the extensive expansion of the Kanto rail network over the past few years the train to Pallet Town had to wind its way around the natural barriers of Mt. Moon and the Viridian Forest creating a seven hour long journey. Although the journey was much faster than going by road the pair did not arrive at Professor Oak's ranch until late in afternoon.

Before she had even reached the laboratory's front door Misty had known that she was too late and had barely resisted the urge to scream when Professor Oak informed her that she had missed Ash by mere hours. She was only prevented from running to the coast and jumping onto Gyarados' back then and there by Mrs Ketchum's kind offer of a warm meal and soft bed.

It wasn't until twenty four hours after Ash and the Unit had set sail for Cinnabar Island that Misty eventually departed the Kanto mainland and headed for the small island herself. Daisy had opted to remain in Pallet Town for the time being to help Professor Oak and Tracey but the orange haired trainer knew all too well that her oldest sister was not staying for the researcher's benefit. Therefore she was alone with no one but Gyarados and her five other Pokemon for company as she crossed the small stretch of ocean.

Sighing at her helpless situation, Misty decided that she would climb up onto the head of the giant serpent where she would have better vantage point. This was the fifth time she had undertaken such a venture but the young Gym Leader could not bear sitting around doing nothing. She had never been a patient person and she knew that time was not on her side. However, just as she was about to order Gyarados to swim even faster, a distant smudge appeared on the horizon.

With land in sight some of the redhead's anxiousness evaporated and she watched impatiently as Cinnabar Island grew before her. After another excruciating twenty minutes the blue serpent passed through the giant stone sea walls of the Island's main port and Misty directed the pokemon to an empty spot on the quayside. As soon as Gyarados stopped, the orange hared trainer quickly hopped onto the firm piece of concrete and after recalling the water type turned to examine her surroundings.

The Gym Leader had planned to hail a taxi or some other form of transport to get her to the other side of the Island however, as she took in the scene around her she realised that it would be impossible to do so.

The huge open concrete docks that were normally littered with large metal shipping crates were instead filled with hundreds - no - thousands of people, all crowded together in dozens of large groups. Every age range was represented in the relatively small space, from bawling babies to sullen looking pensioners, all of whom carried large suitcases or some form of luggage as if they had packed to go on a very long holiday.

The noise was appalling and Misty was momentarily disorientated as she tried to make heads or tales of the situation. Scanning the area around her she spotted an Officer Jenny who, along with a dozen or so other police officers, was desperately trying to maintain order.

Running over to the frantic woman Misty tapped her on the shoulder and tried to look important as the officer turned to face her. "Officer Jenny, what is going on here?" she enquired, gesturing to the throngs of people around her.

The policewoman raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You don't know?" she replied incredulously. Seeing the redhead's blank face the woman continued. "Team Rocket have finally landed on the southern shore of the island, we are therefore evacuating all civilian inhabitants."

"Evacuating all inhabitants!" Misty repeated in a shocked tone. When she had left Pallet Town earlier that morning she and the rest of Kanto had not known whether Team Rocket and attacked or not. Yet even if that was the case she thought that evacuating the island was a pretty drastic reaction, surely Ash would stop them.

"Isn't that unnecessary, surely the Unit sent by the Pokemon League is preventing them from taking control of the island?" Misty said, voicing her thoughts.

Officer Jenny shook her head sadly before she replied in a grim tone, "Commander Ketchum engaged Team Rocket in battle three hours ago but we've just received a message from the Pokemon Centre down on the southern coast that the unit won't be able to hold out for much longer. According to the Nurse Joy down on the front line, they are outnumbered had have suffered many casualties."

Misty was stunned once more. Had she heard the Officer correctly? That Ash, was losing? It was a concept that was rarely coupled with the new Indigo League Champion and the redhead tried to keep the surprise off of her face as the woman in front of her carried on talking.

"I have been constantly sending reports to the Pokemon League and the Elite Four, updating them on the situation. They believe that Commander Ketchum will soon have to order a retreat and therefore have given me permission to get as many people as possible off of the Island."

This time Misty could not keep the shock from her features. She could not imagine Ash ever calling a retreat, especially against an opponent like Team Rocket.

Despite the poor situation the redhead knew that she had to join the Unit down on southern coast. Even if Ash did have to retreat she knew she could not sit around at the port idly whilst there was fighting going on. Also a large part of her just wanted to see the young trainer as soon as possible.

Once again Misty summoned up an assertive tone and addressed the policewoman, "Officer, I have to get to Ash - I mean, Commander Ketchum - as quickly as possible. Can you organise or tell me where I can get any transport to the south of the island?"

"I'm sorry," Office Jenny replied, shaking her head once more, "I can't do that. My orders are to evacuate everyone from the Island - even if you have just arrived here."

Misty frowned at the response; she hadn't thought that she would be forced to leave the Island. However, she kept her tone pleasant as she spoke again. "I know that you need to evacuate civilians from the island but I am Misty Waterflower, leader of the Cerulean City Gym and I have been personally appointed to Commander Ketchum's Unit by Lance, the head of the Elite Four."

The redhead had expected her position as a Gym Leader and Lance's name to immediately win the policewoman around and force her to find the water-type trainer some transport whilst she apologised for the delay. However, Officer Jenny's expression never changed and the woman's voice was slightly less sympathetic than before.

"I know who you are Miss Waterflower but that does not change the fact that I have orders and need to obey them!"

"But you don't understand!" Misty pleaded, "I need to get to the unit now!"

"No you don't understand!" Officer Jenny replied with a hint of anger in her voice. "I realise that you are a powerful trainer and hold authority but we are in a war zone and I have to follow my orders. Yes at the moment I am only evacuating civilians, but I have also been charged by the Pokemon League to oversee the withdrawal of Commander Ketchum and his Unit when they retreat, and I am not going to let you or anyone else run off now when odds are you will be returning in a very short amount of time!"

As the woman paused for breath Misty was tempted to make an angry retort of her own, but despite her stubbornness, she knew that she would not be able to change the Officer's mind. In a way she sympathised with the policewoman's situation but despite the fact that she might end back at the port anyway, she was determined to find Ash.

The redhead quickly looked about her as she wondered whether anyone in the crowds around her had overheard the little dispute. As she did so, her gaze locked onto a shiny racing bike that was leaning against a lamppost about thirty meters away. An idea quickly formed itself in her head and Misty turned to face the policewoman once more.

"I'm sorry officer," she began in sheepish tone, "I didn't mean to cause any trouble, it's just that I thought that getting to the Unit was what I must do. Now that I see things have changed I will just find somewhere to sit and wait to be told what to do."

Officer Jenny was surprised at the redhead's sudden change of mood but after giving the younger woman a suspicious look she simply nodded and turned back to the crowd, having more important things to take care of.

Seeing that the policewoman's attention was elsewhere Misty nonchalantly made her way over to the abandoned bike. Bending down as if she were tying her shoelace, the redhead examined the object whilst trying to look innocent. Its owner most have been in a hurry as she saw with relief that it was not chained to the post that was supporting it.

With a casualness that was in complete contrast to her racing heart Misty slowly stood up, took a look around to see if anyone was watching and then slipped one long leg over the bike, mounting it.

After what seemed to be hours, she finally moved the pedals into the correct starting position and pulled off with a slight wobble. Not wanting to draw attention to herself she forced her legs to move at a normal pace and stared straight a head of her, praying that no one would stop her. After she had gone about twenty meters or so she allowed herself a little smile. She had gotten away with it.

"Hey that's my bike!" a loud shout called from behind her.

Maybe not…

The voice of Officer Jenny instinctively made the redhead pause and she nearly fell of the bike as she began to slow to halt. Shaking her head, she quickly remembered what she was doing and focusing on a path that cut through the crowd she began to pedal with all her strength.

Not daring to look back Misty raced out of the port and headed down a road that would take her to the south of the island. As she realised that she wasn't being pursued, the enormity of what she had just done struck her. She, Misty Waterflower, Gym Leader and aspiring water pokemon master, had just stolen a bike from a police officer! Was she absolutely insane?

Once again she shook her head to clear the thoughts. Oh well, she mused to herself, she would deal with the consequences later. She just hoped that Ash never found out that she had stolen a bike, if he did, he would never let her forget it!

After half an hour of some of the fastest pedalling she had ever undertaken the redhead finally turned off of the island's main ring road and followed the signs pointing the way to the Pokemon Centre. The huge towering figure of the volcano had inconveniently meant that she could not cut across the centre of the Island and instead had forced her to follow its circumference along the coast.

Despite this Misty still believed she had made efficient time. After exiting the main town she had encounter little traffic to block her way and her well toned legs from hours of swimming had barely felt the exertions of the ride.

As the redhead crested a small hill the huge expanse of the sea came into view, causing her to immediately slam on the bike's breaks and skid to a halt. As she stared out across the sparkling blue ocean the scene that greeted her was nothing like anything she had ever witnessed before.

The sea was filled with dozens of large ships that floated ominously about half a kilometre from the shore. Between them and the beach, hundreds of smaller crafts travelled back and forth like an army of ants, leaving foamy white paths in their wake. Misty gawped at the sight of the Team Rocket fleet. She had guessed that the organisation must have grown enormously in order to pull off the invasion of an entire region but the size of the force before her was larger than anything she had imagined. She now understood the extent of the task facing Ash and the Unit and why the Officer Jenny back at the port had been so pessimistic.

Despite the scale of Team Rockets fleet, it was the beach and coastline that astonished the Gym Leader the most. From her high vantage point she could see thousands of tiny figures that she knew must be people and pokemon move in every direction on the beach, the sea and in the air.

Although she was too far away to make out any details, Misty saw every flash of light, fire and electricity, every dust cloud, billow of sand and puff of smoke as she witnessed the hundreds of attacks that were made in those few seconds alone. It was like standing on a stage in front of thousands of people who were all taking flash photographs at the same time and the redhead couldn't help but take a step backwards as the scale of the battle before her threatened to overwhelm her.

With a great effort Misty tore her eyes away from the battle and scanned the cliff tops around her for the promised Pokemon Centre. Her gaze swiftly locked onto the solitary building that was acting as the headquarters for Ash's Unit. It was located almost on the edge of the cliffs and at any other time would treat its lucky visitors to amazing sunset views and easy access to the white sandy beaches. The Gym Leader gave none of this a second's thought and she quickly remounted the bike and began peddling once more.

Initially the redhead had been too far away to make out any sounds of conflict, except for the occasional faint pop from particularly powerful attacks. However, as she drew closer to the Pokemon Centre the noise of the battle steadily rose around her until it was like a constant roaring in her ears.

As she freewheeled the last fifty meters to the building's main doors Misty couldn't help but gasp in shock at what she saw before her. During all of her travels with Ash and Brock, arriving at a Pokemon Centre had always meant comfort, food, a soft bed and most importantly, safety for however long they stayed there. This time however, things were very, very different.

The small area of neatly mown grass that lay outside the front of the Centre was littered with trainers and pokemon alike. Many crowded around the main entrance, waiting patiently to be let into building by a pair of exhausted Chanseys, whilst others simply sat on the ground with their heads held in their hands.

The redhead felt a wave of depression hit her as she silently leaned her bike against a signpost and joined the congregation. Looking around her she noticed that a few people were talking but noticed that the vast majority simply waited in stunned silence. She knew that these people must be waiting for news about injured pokemon and although most tried to keep their emotions bottled up even over the noise of battle she identified the occasional moan of grief.

None of the dejected trainers or coordinators met her eye as she walked towards the main doors but instead kept their gaze firmly on the ground or stared sullenly into space. Misty instantly recognised the blank stares and lowered heads that every trainer had when their Pokemon were injured and she desperately wanted to offer some support to the helpless individuals.

She was about to make her way through the crowd of trainers by the Centre's doors to see if she could find anyone who held some sort of authority, but before she could take a step in the right direction she became aware of a commotion to her rear.

"Make way! Make way! We need to get to the Pokemon Centre immediately!" shouted somebody from behind her.

Misty was practically knocked to one side as two men, half supporting, half carrying a third man hurriedly made their way towards the Centre, roughly shoving people out of their path as they did so. The Gym Leader was about to let off a string of rude remarks for pushing her but as she looked at the third man properly she recoiled in shock.

The man was groaning slightly as his companions bundled him along and trying desperately to keep one bloody hand up to a large gash on his forehead. The wound must have been deep as his once yellow shirt was stained a horrible brown colour as the scarlet liquid ran down his cheek and neck and soaked into the fabric. As well as this Misty could clearly see that his left leg was badly dislocated, if not broken, the limb flopping around in a disgustingly unnatural manner.

The crowd parted without a sound and the trio rushed into building, past the two Chanseys and out of sight. Misty watched in utter shock as the people at the doors clustered together once more as if the spectacle of seeing such a terrible injury was nothing out of the ordinary.

She scrutinised the people and few pokemon around her and the redhead noticed that they too were supporting injuries of some sort. None were as bad as the man she had just witnessed being carried into the centre but she could see sprains, burns and numerous cuts and grazes in all shapes and sizes.

Misty continued to gaze around her but she couldn't see anyone who was managing the situation or who held any type of authority. The Gym Leader knew that she had to find Ash but for all she knew her raven-haired friend could be anywhere along the surrounding mile of coast.

She was about to ask one of the trainers if they knew where Ash or anyone important could be found when another, this time familiar voice, called out behind her.

"Misty? Is that you…? Hey Misty! Over here!"

Misty swivelled around and after a second of searching, located the source of the voice. For a moment her heart leapt as she took in an eighteen year old boy striding confidently towards her with messy hair and a Pikachu perched on his shoulder. However, as the boy drew closer she quickly realised that it was not her old travelling companion who greeted her, but instead another eager young trainer whom she had met when he was just a ten year old boy.

"Ritchie!" Misty exclaimed, stretching a smile across her face in order to hide her disappointment. She was not unhappy to see the auburn haired trainer however, the sense of elation she had felt when she had thought it was Ash who was greeting her was not one that could easily be equalled.

Despite this Ritchie beamed back at her in such a friendly way that even with the depressing mood around her, Misty couldn't help but be lifted by the boy's enthusiasm. For the thousandth time she marvelled at just how similar the auburn-haired boy was to Ash.

"Wow, it is so good to see you after all these years," Ritchie continued happily, "I can't believe you are here, I thought you'd be fighting Team Galactic with all of the other Kanto Gym leaders."

The redhead was taken aback by the statement but managed not so show it. She would have thought that Ash would have told Ritchie that he had requested her to be in the Unit. Yet at the end of the day Ash Ketchum was Ash Ketchum, a boy who could be easily relied upon to forget even the most vital pieces of information.

"Well this is the Unit the Pokemon League told me I was in, so here I am!" The redhead answered, performing a casual pirouette to emphasise her point before grinning back at the trainer.

Chuckling Ritchie replied, "Man, Ash is going to be over the moon when he sees you are here, it'll just be like old times!"

This time Misty did not hide her confusion and allowed her delicate eyebrows to come together in a slight frown. Ritchie however did not seem to noticed, seemingly lost in thought his own memories, his gaze fixed on a point somewhere in the middle distance.

After a few seconds of silence Misty's impatience kicked and she realised with a stab of guilt that she should be getting to the battle instead chatting idly with a friend. With a snap of her fingers, the Gym Leader managed to pull the boys attention back to her.

"Ritchie, I need to find Ash now and help with the battle." She commanded in an urgent tone.

Remembering the severity of the situation Ritchie fixed his eyes back onto the young woman in front of him and replied in a serious tone, "I have no idea where Ash is right now, there is too much confusion going on, but you can help us in the battle; you're a water-pokemon trainer right?"

Misty nodded in confirmation and the auburn-haired boy grinned back. "Well that makes things easy," Ritchie said, "your destination is the sea!"

Misty nodded again and took a step forward but was forced to stop as Ritchie quickly caught her by the arm.

"One more thing," the auburn haired trainer said ominously as he enlarged a pokeball, "If you have any pokemon that can battle on land, I suggest you let them out now."

* * *

"NO! Absolute no! I am not doing it!"

"Ash, you must see sense! There is no other choice"

"Sense! What you are suggesting does not make sense! We cannot let Team Rocket take any more ground!"

"But we can't stop them, we are being overwhelmed!"

Ash gritted his teeth together in anger as he stared at the two men standing before him. The conversation they had been having had gone on for nearly ten minutes now and no solution to their problem had yet to be agreed.

With a frustrated sigh the raven-haired trainer forced himself to calm down and he replied in controlled tone. "We are not going to abandon Cinnabar Island, or retreat in any form," he said adamantly.

On the opposite side of their small circle Drake raised his voice in objection once more. "Ash, Team Rocket is too strong, we cannot hold them here. Their third wave will wipe us out. Our best hope is to leave the island and set up a new defence where we are more prepared."

"We will not be more prepared anywhere else than we were today." Ash said, his tone calm but strained. "If we retreat now Team Rocket will pursue us all the way to the other side of the island and trap us against the sea. There we will have to battle in the town that surrounds the docks whilst we wait for the League to send ships to evacuate us and who knows how long that will take!"

This time Brock piped up in disagreement. "But Ash you don't understand, we will be wiped out!"

Ash couldn't hold in his anger any longer and he roared as his temper snapped. "NO IT IS YOU WHO DOESN'T UNDERSTAND! If we retreat we will be picked off one by one and will not have the cohesion to inflict any sort of damage in return. Even if we do make it off of the island, our forces will be so depleted that we will not be able to mount an effective defence anyway"

The raven-haired trainer registered the shock on both Brock's and Drake's faces at his outburst but he did not care. He wasn't angry at his two comrades it was Team Rocket and his inability to stop them that fuelled his fury. He had always been able to save the day; it was always he who beat impossible odds, survived dangerous encounters, defeated powerful adversaries and even come back from the dead. But right now even he could not see a way out of the doom that was descending on him and his Unit.

He completely understood why Brock and Drake were arguing for him to retreat and even a large part of his brain was screaming at him to comply. However, there was one unavoidable fact that dominated his thoughts and forced him to stand his ground and keep his Unit where it was.

After his outburst Ash's next words came out so quiet that his three companions strained to listen. "I will not retreat; even if we do make it off Cinnabar then we will have to fight Team Rocket on the mainland of Kanto and there is only one place where that will happen, one place where I cannot allow that to happen…Pallet Town."

There was a moments silence as the group finally heard the reason to why Ash refused to retreat. The four men stared at each other, all aware of their surroundings, but none giving them any thought.

It was Gary who eventually broke the silence. "I know I'm pretty biased but I'm with Ash on this one, we cannot take the fight to Pallet Town." With deliberate haste, the chestnut haired boy took a large step to his left so he was standing side by side with his oldest friend. The two boys from the small coastal town stared back at the two Gym-Leaders waiting for them to renew their objections.

Drake held Ash's gaze for a couple of seconds before closing his eyes and shaking his head in defeat. "You know my opinion Ash but I can see your mind is set on the matter and now that it is two against two we could be arguing all day. I don't like it but if you can convince me that you have a plan to beat Team Rocket, right here, right now, then you won't hear another word of protest from myself or Brock."

The breeder nodded his assent and all focused turned back to the raven-haired trainer.

Ash was momentarily thrown off guard, he hadn't expected Drake and Brock to concede so suddenly and now he was being asked to come up with a plan on the spot. In order to gain some thinking time he tore his eyes away from Drake and scanned his surroundings.

Everywhere he looked he could see dozens of individual land, sea and aerial battles raging on. All around him, trainers, coordinators and pokemon were fighting and suffering as they battled with the black clad figures. And through it all, the ever present, never stopping transport ships surged through the waves as they continuously brought grunts to the beach.

Not for the first time Ash cursed the transport ships, if only they could be stopped. He was confident that on even terms his Unit would be more than a match for the grunts. They were people who had spent their lives battling with pokemon and unlike the members of Team Rocket they weren't fighting in order to be paid or because they were simply told to do so. No, they had something worth fight for. They were fighting for their homes, their families, their friends and that fact gave them extra strength and belief.

However, as good as his unit were, if the transport ships couldn't be stopped they would soon be too heavily outnumbered.

Ash gazed out to sea at the third oncoming wave of vessels and wracked his brain for a solution to his predicament. How could he destroy a ship?

Suddenly a brilliant flash of orange light blinded his vision and then a terrific boom filled the air. The raven-haired trainer nearly jumped out of his skin as the transport ship he was staring at exploded in a great fireball, sending smoke and debris hurtling through the air around it.

"WHAT THE…!" Ash exclaimed, "Did you guys see that!"

He realised what a stupid question he had asked as he turned to the rest of the group, all three of them transfixed on the now rising plume of smoke.

"What the hell just happened?" Gary asked, his eyes still locked onto the ruined ship that was sinking fast.

"It blew up!" Brock answered, "It just exploded out of thin air."

Turning his gaze back to the disturbance Ash tried to contemplate what he had just witnessed. A few seconds was all his brain needed in order to piece together the evidence and form a verdict. "Not out of thin air." he practically whispered, "it was a hyper beam!"

Turning once again to face his group the raven-haired trainer raised his voice so they could all hear. "Drake, I have that plan you were asking for. We can beat Team Rocket, right here, right now! All you've got to do is believe in me."

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

I'm sure you will all have guessed how Ash is going to win the battle. I know you were all expecting it to be resolved in this chapter but I had to get Misty into this story so i'm afraid you will have to wait until the next chapter to find out for sure. Once AGAIN please review! I love feedback, and even if you have nothing constructive to say, any line saying you're enjoying this or just a completely random idea is much appreciated!

**Responses to reviews**

_mainstreet52_ - That is a very good question. I will go into more detail on this later in the story but basically Giovanni and Team Rocket have been building up to this for years and have been pooling as much resources and recruiting as many grunts as possible in many different ways. Whilst the Units created by the League are large forces, they are not standing armies, therefore I thought the two forces would be evenly matched. I hope this explains things.

_Ky111_ - Fantastic review as ever. I really like the idea of a small group breaking off of the main Unit and attacking the rear of Team Rocket. It is not how Ash will beat TR this time however, there are many more battles to come so Ash may come up with that idea in the future. I also like how you have considered the effect of Ash's actions on the rest of the unit.

_truch28_ - Thanks for the continued support, it is great to hear that you are still enjoying the story.

_tennisdesi91_ - I'm glad you're still enjoying the story. I really enjoyed writing the battle scenes so I hope they came across just as vivid as I imagined them.

_kawaiighurl018_ - WOW! I am so happy for all of the reviews, you have no idea how encouraging it is to see someone review each chapter so nicely. You have probably guessed from this chapter that your prediction about Ash's response was absolutely spot on so congratulations for that! You're obviously someone who knows what they are talking about so feel free to give any more ideas you may have.

_tiarapikachu _- Haha, no worries, I just didn't want to leave anyone out. I'm glad you like the chapter. Also I hope that you write a story of your own at some point, you're obviously a true Pokemon fan!


	9. Fly With Me

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

WOW! You guys blew me away with all of the reviews, I can't tell you how happy I am! I'm once again sorry to keep you waiting for the next chapter but here it is, so enjoy!

**In**** Love and War**

**Chapter 9: Fly With Me**

It was so peaceful under the water…

Time seemed to have slowed down and the deafening roar of the battle raging above on the surface was muted to a dull throb.

Misty always enjoyed diving under the sea, the tranquil settings never failed to calm her and in these rare moments she could easily forget the troubles that plagued her mind.

The redhead briefly glanced up towards the surface. She was only six meters beneath the waves and the sun's rays easily lit up the water around her. Silhouetted against the light were the forms of hundreds of pokemon and trainers fighting silently above her, their distinctive colours and markings blotted out by the glare but their outlines giving away their identities to the experienced water-type trainer.

The peaceful setting was suddenly shattered as a large dark object dropped past her and disappeared into the depths bellow, leaving nothing but a stream of bubbles in its wake. Following the rising pockets of air she gazed up to see dozens of pieces of metal sinking silently around her.

Like snow falling from a cloud, bits of debris slowly fell from the large hull of a ship that floated off to her right. The giant object was cast in a bright fiery glow and the mixture of orange and blue light danced in the water, producing a spectrum of colours that changed almost as quickly as they were created.

The redhead wanted to gaze at the myriad for as long as possible but the all too familiar burning in her lungs began to make itself known and quickly intensified as her body started to crave the oxygen it was being denied. After a few extra seconds of staring Misty gave into her instincts as she realised she could hold her breath no longer. With her right hand she tapped the giant white fin that was in front of her three times and she immediately felt Gyarados respond to the command to bring her back to the surface.

The great blue serpent drove through the waves with a loud roar, sending water flying in a cloud of white spray. Misty gasped in the cool air, feeling it instantly sooth her lungs, and after a few short moments of panting she caught her breath enough to observe the scene around her.

The fighting that was raging in the sea was just as violent, if not more so, than the battles taking place on the land and in the air. Just like every other trainer, the redhead had been appalled by the ferocity and scale of the action that she was forced to take part in. It was like no pokemon battle she had ever witnessed before.

Hundreds of pokemon, many with trainers riding on their backs, were darting through the water, their paths given away by foamy white trails. All struggled to launch their attacks whilst they desperately tried dodge enemy attacks and fight the swell of the sea. To make matters worse, pokemon would shoot up from under the water with no warning at all, catching their opponents off guard.

As far as Misty could see there was no coordination to either side. It was every man for himself, attack or be attacked.

Looking over to the inferno that was the sinking transport ship, the redhead assessed her handiwork. She hadn't meant to blow up the vessel, just damage it enough to put it out of action. However, once again, she had misjudged the power of Gyarados' Hyper Beam.

After being directed down to the beach by Ritchie, Misty had made a frantic dash to the waterline, weaving in and out of half a dozen individual pokemon battles on her way. She had immediately released all six of her pokemon, taking up position on Gyarados' back and ordered her team to swim to the heart of the aquatic war.

Before she had time to select an opponent herself she had been confronted by a grunt riding a Tentacruel surrounded by four other Tentacool. Despite her love for the Jellyfish-type pokemon the Gym-Leader had quickly dispatched all five creatures, leaving the grunt to begin a frantic front crawl towards another comrade.

Only then did Misty notice the large grey hull of the transport ship bearing down upon her, its bow poised to slam into her and her pokemon. Without thinking of what the consequences might be, the redhead had commanded Gyarados to attack and simply watched in awe as the orange beam of energy blasted a hole through the ship's metal body work.

For a second nothing had happened then a huge explosion tore through the ship and a writhing ball of fire sped towards her. Before she could say the words Gyarados had launched its body beneath the waves, barely escaping the blaze.

Shaking her head to bring her mind back to the present Misty once again registered the ship that was now swiftly slipping beneath the waves. She watched with her mouth slightly agape as the figures of grunts hurled themselves from the stricken ship into the tropical water.

Misty quickly averted her gaze away from the hellish scene of smoke and fire. She was disgusted at herself and did not want to consider the casualties she might have inflicted, even if they were members of Team Rocket. It took a few seconds but she was surprised by how easily she was able to shut of her emotions and focus her attention back to the task on hand.

The Gym-Leader purposefully turned in the opposite direction to the transport ship and looked for a new target. Her eyes instantly locked onto a commotion fifty meters away where a small yet intense skirmish was taking place.

On closer inspection Misty noticed that the battle was between a trainer from Ash's Unit and two grunts. Indicating the battle to her pokemon she gave the order to go to the trainer's rescue.

As she closed the distance the redhead was able to see the situation in more detail. The trainer was a girl who appeared to be a couple of years younger than herself and was riding atop a Blastoise. Her royal blue hair was plastered to her head, evidence that she had been under the water at least once.

What with her age and her strikingly pretty yet girlish face, Misty thought the girl would be more at home in a shopping mall than fighting a war. Yet the redhead mused that she had been doing just as dangerous activities at an age far younger than the bluenette before her and quickly brought her thoughts turned back to planning what she would do.

Along with the Blastoise the girl only had three other Pokemon; a Buizel, a Ludicolo and a small Piplup that was stationed atop the head of the giant tortoise-like pokemon. In comparison the two grunts had ten pokemon between and although Misty was surprised by the skill with which the girl was handling her team, there could really only be one outcome.

Misty glanced to her left and then to her right, making sure all of her pokemon were following her. As well as Gyrados; Corsola, Politoed, Staryu, Goldeen and Starmie completed her six-strong team.

The redhead had been tempted to use Azurill as one of her team as she spent very little time without the company of the small ball like creature. However, she had eventually come to the decision that it would be too vulnerable in such a violent conflict and given her the experiences she had already had, that decision had been justified.

When Misty was only twenty meters away she pointed out a Rocket pokemon to each of her team and ordered them to attack. At exactly the same moment the grunts themselves went on the offensive, commanding half of their pokemon to attack the Blastoise and the other half the Buizel and Ludicolo.

The giant tortoise-like creature roared in defiance as it shot two powerful jets of water from its cannons, sending a Wooper and a Kingler flying as they tried to use their tackle attacks.

The Piplup on top of the Blastiose's head beat back an incoming Seaking with its Bubblebeam attack but the pair could not prevent the two remaining Rocket Pokemon from slipping through their defences.

The Blastoise let out a second cry, this time in pain, as a Quilfish smashed into its flank with a powerful take-down attack. The impact caused the large blue Pokemon to lurch violently to one side, causing the girl who was riding it to topple off of its shell with a surprised scream.

Dawn thrashed about in the water as she desperately swam back to the surface. She felt a tug on her shoulder and saw that Piplup, who had fallen into the water with her, was trying to pull her up. The pair desperately broke through the waves, their heads bobbing up and down as they returned to the carnage they had escaped for a few seconds.

"Blastoise!" Dawn called out. She was a sitting Psyduck in the water and she knew she had to get back on the giant water-type. The huge Pokemon responded with a deep guttural "Blaaast!" and surged through the water towards her however, it was almost immediately stopped in its tracks as the Quilfish struck it with yet another Take-down attack.

Blastoise retaliated with a blast from its cannons, causing the Quilfish to faint as it was hit by the high velocity water but again the tortoise like Pokemon roared in pain as it too was struck from behind with a powerful Crabhammer attack from the Kingler.

Dawn grimaced at the spectacle. Gary had not lied when he had told her that his first ever pokemon was extremely powerful, but against so many assailants even it could not hope to win.

A high pitch squealing from Piplup recaptured the blue-haired coordinator's attention in time for her to see a Remoraid, Quagsier and Seaking ploughing through the water towards them. With Blastoise, Ludicolo and Buizel all under attack from Rocket pokemon, Dawn realised with a sickening feeling that she and Piplup were on their own.

"Piplup, used Bubblebeam attack!" Dawn commanded, shouting at her small pokemon in a vain attempt to prevent their imminent defeat.

The little penguin-like pokemon shot at out a rapid stream of bubbles that pounded the oncoming trio, slowing down their advance but doing little to damage them. The Rocket pokemon drew ever closer and with only five meters separating the two sides, the three creatures leapt into the air and targeted their prey.

Dawn pulled Piplup into a tight hug and watched in terror as the creatures hurtled towards them, the Seaking's horn already rotating as it prepared to deliver a Horn-Drill attack. "Goodbye Piplup!" she sobbed, clutching her Pokemon tighter.

All of a sudden a brown and a purple blur whizzed across her field of vision and smashed into the Remoraid and Quadsier, sending them flying through the air before just as quickly whizzing off in the opposite direction. At the same time, the Seaking, which was still in mid leap, was blasted by a stream of glowing white barbs as it was bombarded by a Spike-Cannon attack.

Dawn blinked in astonishment. A second ago three Team Rocket pokemon had been bearing down on her, ready to rip her to pieces; now there was nothing but air in front of her. It was as if they had disappeared.

Without warning the water around her began churn and she felt something solid connect with her legs. Dawn clutched onto Piplup for dear life as she was lifted high out of the water, completely shocked at what was happening.

Coughing and spluttering water the coordinator look down to see what had lifted her out of the water. For a few seconds the white and blue surface confused her and she stared blankly at the object.

Dawn froze as she realised what she was sitting on. It was a tail... A very big tail... A very big tail that was connected to a long serpent-like blue body. The blood drained from her face as her eyes travelled along and up the glistening scales, all the way until they met two giant purple pupils glaring back at her.

The blue-haired girl screamed in horror as she looked up at the Gyarados towering over her. The fear she had experience when the Team Rocket Pokemon were attacking her was nothing compared to what she felt now.

"Do you really have to scream that loud? We're on your side you know!"

Dawn shut her mouth abruptly at the sound of the commanding voice and looked around her to see who had uttered them.

"Up here!" the voice said again.

Dawn followed the sound and gazed up at the Gyarados' head once more. Leaning on the centre spine that protruded from the pokemon's forehead was a tall elegant girl with milky-white skin and shoulder-length fiery orange hair. Like the coordinator, her hair clung to her neck, revealing she had been under the water several times.

"Need a lift?" the girl asked, grinning down at the bedraggled bluenette.

Dawn nodded, she was still too shocked to speak but managed to utter a small yelp as the Gyarados lifted its tail up towards its head. She flinched slightly as the tail drew level with the serpent's mouth but relaxed again when she came face to face with the girl. The coordinator accepted the redhead's extend hand and shakily stepped onto the giant serpent's head, carrying Piplup in her arms.

"Th…thank you!" Dawn stuttered. Despite being rescued by the creature she was not exactly comfortable with standing on top of such a ferocious Pokemon.

"Relax, Gyarados won't hurt you," the older girl said as if she had read Dawn's thoughts. "The name's Misty by the way."

Dawn looked at the girl properly for the first time, "Misty?" she repeated curiously, "Misty Waterflower?"

Misty's eyebrows rose slightly in surprise, "Ah, you must recognised me as a Gym Leader."

Dawn shook her head as a small grin began to play about her lips. "No not at all, my name is Dawn Berlitz, I travelled around Sinnoh with your friends Ash and Brock, I've heard so much about you."

Misty's eyebrows rose even further and she gasped in astonishment, "Oh my god, I've heard about you too, it is great to finally meet you!"

Dawn's smile grew wider and she was about to reply however before any words could escape her mouth, a horrified look spreading across her features.

"Oh no! My Pokemon!" she exclaimed in a fearful tone and quickly spun around to look down at the water.

Misty placed a reassuring hand on the coordinator's shoulder. "Relax, they are just fine," she said calmly and pointed over to a group of Pokemon.

Sure enough, Dawn's three other pokemon had not fallen to Team Rocket's pokemon as she had momentarily imagined but were instead going on the offensive with the aid of five more creatures. As the blue-haired girl watched she realised that the purple and brown blurs that had saved her from the Remoraid and Quagsier were a Starmie and a Staryu, which were now helping her own Pokemon beat back the remaining Team Rocket Pokemon.

A Corsola, Politoad and Goldeen were also involved and Dawn visibly relaxed as she saw that they were easily overcoming their opponents.

"Are they your Pokemon?" she asked.

"They are indeed." Misty answered proudly.

Dawn turned to face her new friend with a mixture of gratitude and awe on her features. "Thank you so much, I don't want to imagine what would have happened if you hadn't saved us."

"Don't mention it," Misty replied, waving away the comment. "Besides, we're not out of the water yet!"

* * *

"This plan had better work Ash!"

"It will, don't worry."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because it can't afford not to!"

Ash nodded once at Drake before digging his heals into the flanks of the Dragonite beneath him. With a mighty bellow the orange dragon beat its wings in powerful strokes and rapidly rose into the air. A second later the thud of dozens of other wings hummed around him as a swarm of other pokemon fell in behind him. Twisting his head around to look at the creatures to his rear Ash marvelled at the thirty strong formation of flying pokemon he had managed to gather together in the short amount of time.

After Gary, Drake, Brock and he had witnessed the Team Rocket transport ship being blown up by the Hyper Beam the raven-haired trainer had quickly fired off a plan to the other three men. If they could stop the transport ships from reaching the beach by destroying or damaging them enough, they could prevent the Team Rocket grunts from overwhelming the trainers and coordinators on the shore. It would also cut off the grunts that were already on the beach giving Ash's unit the upper hand for the first time.

However this was easier said than done. Ash was pretty sure that any attack other than Hyper Beam would not have the energy to pierce the metal hulls and pokemon that new Hyper Beam were hard to come by. Then there was the problem of getting to the transport ships themselves. Pokemon who could neither swim nor fly were instantly ruled out and even water pokemon were a liability due to their lack of agility. With this severely restricted plan in mind the four men had scampered off to find any flying-type pokemon that might have the power to use Hyper-Beam.

Ash watched as Drake gracefully fell into place on his right, his own Dragonite flapping its wings in slow gentle strokes. The raven-haired trainer compared the creature to his own steed and could immediately discern the differences between the two. Whilst Drake's Ditto looked identical to the original he could clearly tell that the normal-type pokemon could not replicate Dragonite's immense speed or strength; a factor that he hoped he would not regret.

Areodactyl and Gary joined him on his left and Ash smiled in amusement as Drew cheekily barged into the fossil-type Pokemon with his Flygon, provoking a string of curses from the chestnut-haired boy.

The formation climbed rapidly in order to avoid getting caught in the aerial battle that was still raging around them. As they levelled out Ash raised his fist above his head in order to give the pre-arranged signal to attack. For a couple seconds he kept his arm locked in position, content to hover hundreds of feet in the air as he and the small group around him mentally prepared themselves to re-enter the carnage of battle and implement a plan that would decide the fate of thousands of people.

The beach and surrounding coast looked tiny from such a high vantage points. The thousands of trainers, grunts and pokemon were but mere dots to the small group and the transport ships that littered the sea could have been mistaken for children's toys.

With calm finality Ash let his arm drop and was instantly buffeted by the draft of twenty-nine pokemon surging past him as they shot back down towards the earth. A second later the raven-haired trainer followed them as Ditto dove vertically downwards, beating its wings as if it refused to allow gravity to solely carry them down.

Ash's knuckles turned white as he was forced to hold onto the pokemon with all his strength in order stop himself from being sucked off the creatures back by the air rushing past him. Blurs of colour flashed momentarily in his vision as the pair tore passed other flying Pokemon who had no time to register the orange flash as it tore by.

With the sea rapidly drawing closer the raven-haired trainer managed to gain enough control of his numbed senses to direct Ditto to a transport ship that was slowly progressing towards the beach. With a flick of its tail the orange dragon turned at the last second, missing the water by a few centimetres and skimmed along the surface towards its target.

Ash was grateful for the change in direction, now that Ditto was only flying under its own power the trainer could sit up properly on the Pokemon's back and gain a full assessment of his surroundings.

"Ditto, use Hyper-Beam now!" Ash roared the command at the top his voice as the gap to the transport ship rapidly depleted.

Under no illusions as to what it was supposed to attack, the copy Dragonite opened its mouth and with a cry that matched the ferocity of its rider, sent the pulsating beam of glowing orange energy towards the transport ship with deadly precision.

The explosion was bigger and louder than Ash had imagined and Ditto had to quickly alter its flight to prevent being caught in the searing ball of fire that erupted from the tangled piece of metal. He felt the heat from the blast as they rushed over the stricken vessel and was forced to shut his eyes as they shot through a cloud of billowing black smoke.

Over the noise of untamed fire and the air that pound his ears Ash heard the sound of men screaming as the Rocket grunts desperately tried to escape the hellish inferno of the sinking ship. With some relief the raven-haired trainer saw dozens of black figures throwing themselves into the safety sea of the sea however, the feeling soon faded when he caught sight of two figures engulfed in flames collapse on the deck, writhing with unimagined agony.

Feeling nauseous Ash ordered Ditto to climb back up into the sky in a bid to escape the terrible scenes. He knew he had to continue with the plan, despite the appalling consequences.

"Next time we just try to take out the propeller on the back." He told Ditto in a hoarse, quivering voice.

Banking around in a wide arc the pair searched for another transport ship to attack. Ash spotted one only a couple hundred meters away from the beach and swiftly pointed it out to Ditto. The dragon acknowledged the target and sped forward, angling its line of attack so it could target the back of the boat.

As the transport came within range Ash was about to order a second Hyper Beam attack but before the command could leave his mouth the thousands of white needles suddenly came shooting towards him.

Ditto didn't wait for the order to begin evasive manoeuvres, instead it dropped its right wing and spun to one side, dodging the attack by a hair's breadth. However the attack didn't end there. The needles tracked the movement as if shot from a machine gun and it was all Ditto could do to avoid the deadly objects as they traced it through the sky.

Halfway through a desperate roll Ash stole a glance at the transport ship and located the source of the barrage. To his horror he saw that the Team Rocket grunts had released twenty or so Spinarak and Cacnea, which had taken up positions around the vessel. They must have seen what was happening to the other transport ships and had ordered the grass and bug types to use their Pin Missile attacks to create multiple streams of dangerously effective anti-aircraft fire.

An explosion somewhere off to their right distracted Ditto for only a fraction of a second but it was long enough to prevent the imitation pokemon from turning in time to avoid a line of needles that carved through the air towards it. The Pokemon shuddered as the attack raked along the side of its body and Ash felt a searing pain shoot up his left leg. Looking down at the limb he saw a nasty gash in the side of his jeans that began to stain with blood. He couldn't tell how serious the wound was but as far as he could tell he hadn't severed anything major.

He suddenly had to grab hold of the orange hide as Ditto arched upwards in order to escape the Pin Missle attacks. When they were out of range the normal-type Pokemon slowed to a stop and hovered in the air, its breath coming in deep gasps.

Ash gazed down in frustration at the metal figure of the transport ship as it slowly continued towards the beach. He smacked his leg in anger and then winced as pain shot up from the injury he had just sustained. It was well into the afternoon and the sun's heat beat down unforgivingly causing him to sweat profusely. The extreme warmth and the injury were starting to make him weary and he knew he had to end the battle soon.

Wiping his brow, Ash desperately tried to think of a method that would allow him to attack the Rocket transport ship. He shook his head as his mind failed to generate ideas. With the pin missile attacks creating an impenetrable barrier it seemed impossible to get anywhere near the damned thing.

Out of the corner of his eye Ash caught a movement to his left and he turned to see Drew and his Flygon whizz past him, flying right on the tail of a grunt riding a Fearow. The two pairs darted, spiralled and twisted in perfect synchronisation as one desperately tried to escape and the other mercilessly pursued.

The raven-haired trainer watched the aerial dance as the battlers moved across the sky. Without warning he was forced to avert his gaze as the pair flew directly into the glare of the sun. He blinked several times to regain his vision and clear the whiteness that glazed his sight. When everything was back to normal he focused his gaze downwards to the sea, unwilling to look into the blinding light for a second time.

Suddenly an idea struck him. If he couldn't look into the sun then neither could the Team Rocket grunts and, more importantly, nor could the Spinarak and Cacnea. If he and Ditto could fly directly out of the sun towards the transport ship then they would be practically invisible to everything on board it and as a result, would not be target for the Pin Missile attacks.

Grinning to himself for concocting such a clever plan Ash directed Ditto through the sky to the correct position. He could feel the intense heat on his back as he once more gazed down at the grey transport ship packed full of grunts. With only fifty meters left until it reached the beach he knew had to act fast.

With a command to Ditto the Dragonite copy flapped its wings and propelled itself downwards. The pair sped towards the ship and Ash prayed he had judged the angle of attack correctly. The closer they drew the more he expected the hail of white spikes to fill the air around him.

The plan worked perfectly. Ditto flew within range of attack and still the Pin Missile attacks did not come. The Hyper Beam was deadly accurate and struck the transport ship in the stern, just above the rudder. There was a loud boom as the energy tore the metal apart and Ash was greatly relieved to see that there was no explosion or fireball this time.

As they sored over the sinking vessel and became visible once more a few of the Pin Missile attacks started up. Ditto easily dodged the half-hearted streams and quickly rose back high into the air. Ash glanced back at the transport ship and saw with satisfaction that it had stopped moving and was starting to list to one side.

With two transport ships disabled the raven-haired trainer scanned the rest of the battlefield to judge the success of the other trainers. It awed him to see that the previously clear blue sky was now dark and smudged with thick black clouds of smoke as as many as twenty six Team Rocket ships burned like beacons across the sapphire ocean.

Ash couldn't help but marvel at the success of his plan. Surely Team Rocket would have to give up the fight now that their re-enforcements were cut off and their grunts isolated.

As if one cue one of the few undamaged transport ships began to turn away from the beach, its wake creating a perfect white arc as it turned back the way it had just come. The effect travelled like a wave down the coast and soon the sea was covered with U-shaped wakes as the few remaining Team Rocket vessels headed back to safety.

Ash grinned uncontrollably at the reverse of fortunes; finally his unit had the upper hand.

His smile suddenly vanished as he caught sight of dozens of flying Team Rocket pokemon heading straight towards him!

"Ditto get us out of here!" he cried in panic.

His stomach lurched as the dragon beat its wing furiously and dived downwards in the bid to escape. Ash shot a glance behind to see how many Rocket pokemon were pursuing them however, to his surprise and immense relief, he saw nothing but empty air behind him. Bringing Ditto to a stop he looked above him and soon found the group of enemy pokemon. Instead of following him the creatures flew directly overhead, completely ignoring his presence. His elation grew further has he realised that they were flying away from the beach and as a consequence, away from the battle.

Ash watched on in joy as the ripple of retreating Team Rocket grunts spread down the coast. In the air, in the sea and on the beach he witnessed hundreds of red flashes as Pokemon were recalled by their grunts. Dark swarms appeared in the sky and ocean as the grunts desperately fled back to the remainder of their fleet.

The grunts on the beach however had nowhere to run. With their comrades fleeing in the air and sea and abandoned by their re-enforcements the black clad figures felt a wave of panic sweep through their ranks.

Encouraged by the sight and sensing the grunts hesitation, the trainers and co-ordinators that had previously been fighting a dogged retreat now leapt at their opponents with renewed energy. The shift in momentum was clearly visible as the grunts were pushed back against the sea but with nowhere to retreat, they still continued to fight back.

Ash guided Ditto down to a point on the beach where a cluster of Team Rocket grunts had formed a defensive half circle and were battling a number of trainers. The Dragonite copy skimmed the waves as it sped towards the beach and just as they were about to fly over the skirmish the raven-haired trainer leapt from the creatures back, throwing three pokeballs into the air at the same time.

"Donphan, use Rollout! Infernape, Flame wheel now!" he roared as he fell through the air.

Ash rolled as he landed, the soft white sand helping to cushion the impact, and immediately sprang to his feet. He had landed right in front of the grunts and his sudden materialisation momentarily surprised both sides. As the grunts recognised who he was they commanded their pokemon to attack however, before the creatures could react three red flashes appeared from the air around the raven-haired trainer's head.

Donphan and Infernape came charging out from the red energy and without warning struck an Arbok and a Machoke respectively sending them skidding across the sand. One quick witted grunt tried to stop the ambush by commanding his cubone to attack but Ash was too quick for him. With a rapid order to Quilava the Cubone was engulfed by a powerful Flamethrower attack, knocking it out instantly.

Following their commander's lead the trainers and co-ordinators continued their attacks with even more ferocity. The grunts had no response and quickly lost pokemon to the onslaught. When there were only several Team Rocket pokemon still standing Ash raised his hand above his head in order to get the attention of his comrades.

"Stop!" he bellowed at the top of his lungs.

After a short delay the other trainers and co-ordinators disengaged their pokemon and turned to look at him eagerly. The grunts looked on cautiously all of them glad to have a rest from the fighting but uncertain about what was coming next.

Ash let his gaze sweep the black clad figures in front of him and waited until all eyes were locked on him.

"Surrender!" he shouted loudly so his voice carried over the noise that still roared all around him.

"You have been beaten! You're Pokemon have fainted and the rest of your forces have fled; surrender now and spare yourselves the pain of being completely wiped out!"

Ash glared at the figures before him, his determined features demanding an answer. For several seconds there was no response and he wondered whether the grunts would fight until the bitter end. He was just about to order his pokemon onto the offensive was more when one of the grunts made a movement.

With the measure of a beaten man the grunt reached to his belt, unclipped a pokeball and raised his arm in resignation. There was a flash of light and the Vileploom that had been standing before him disappeared in a swirl of red. Slowly, one by one, the other grunts pulled pokeballs from their belts and reluctantly recalled all of their Pokemon.

Ash held his breath in anticipation as he watched the men before him clip their pokeballs back onto their belts and slowly sink to their knees. With almost overwhelming finality they gradually lifted their hands in the air to indicate their submission.

To his right and left, all down the beach, Ash saw other Team Rocket grunts catch sight of the spectacle and stop their battles. Slowly at first, but with increasing speed the members of Team Rocket grudgingly recalled their pokemon and sank to the sand in surrender. The deafening sound of hundreds of individual battles gradually diminished and was replaced by a blissful silence that was almost haunting after the hours of thunderous noise.

Ash kept his eyes on the grunts for a few more seconds to make completely sure he was seeing what he thought he saw. Then, with a look of pure elation, he spun in the sand to face the trainers and co-ordinators around him. Thrusting his right arm high into the sky with his index finger and middle finger extended he roared so that his voice carried as far as possible.

"VICTORY! WE HAVE VICTORY!"

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Well there you have it folks, Ash and Co - 1, Team Rocket - 0! Well done to all of you who guessed what Ash's plan was, I hope you enjoyed the chapter even if you knew what was coming. Now that the battle is over and all our heroes are in once place things are about to get interesting! Once again I would like to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter, it was by far an away a record number of reviews for me. Lets see if we can break it though!

**Responses to reviews**

_Ky111_ - Thank you once again. As you can see, Misty played quite an important part in the battle. I agree that Ash would have made the same choice as Brock but I don't think Misty will be happy to find out that Ash didn't actually ask for her.

_reminiscent-afterthought_ - I'm glad someone picked up on the bike reference, it is certainly not the last we have heard of the matter.

_Kawaiighurl018 _- Full marks once again! I really need to start making this story less predictable! I'm really glad you're still enjoying the story though!

_Apples Who Dance With Oranges _- Thank you so much for the review. I'm so happy you like the story, it is always great to get positive feedback!

_jg13145 -_ I hope that this chapter keeps in line with the trend and is better than the last. I know what you mean, when I name these chapters I have to listen to the songs over and over again. Congrats on guessing it was Misty, it's great that you are thinking about things in detail.

_truch28_ - Thanks again for the continued support. I hope you liked this chapter and there are lots more on the way.

_Unicess_ - Thank you so much. I know some people read stories just for the characters so i'm glad that the action side of things is appreciated as well. There will certainly be a lot more on the way, remember Ash and the Unit have an entire war to fight!

_tennisdesi91 _- Thanks for another great review! Misty will certainly be a major character from now on.

_NGA91 -_ I have continued and because you gave me such a nice review I will continue some more!

_ThyOtherSide - _Thanks for a great review! I'm trying to strike a balance of action, romance and comedy so I hope I'm getting it right.

_tiarapikachu _- I'm glad you are still enjoying the story. I'm not going to give anything away but you can't have a proper Pokemon fanfic without Charizard can you!

Guest - I'm sorry to disappoint you. I know it took a while to get the story going but if you keep reading you will certainly get a lot of pokeshipping.

_Deiluva -_ What a fantastic review!I agree, i do find it odd when people write pokemon ff without pokemon in them. I'm glad you like my portrayal of Misty, she is still the same bad tempered, browbeating girl that we all know and love but after eight years of habouring feelings for Ash i thought she'd be pretty besotted with him at times. Just go for it! I was reluctant about writing this story but just write things how you picture them in your head and everything else just falls into place! Oh and don't worry, this story still has a lot of chapters to go before it is finished.


	10. Misty

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

A massive thank you to all of you who reviewed the last chapter once again, even if some do contain threats to harm me if i don't finish this story. The last chapter was a little rushed so I apologise for the grammar in many cases. Hopefully this chapter will be better to read.

**In Love and War**

**Chapter 10: Misty**

"It is just so depressing!" Dawn grumbled as she twisted her white hat in her hands in order to wring out the vast amounts of sea water it had soaked up.

Misty ignored the comment for a moment and instead aimed a Pokeball at an exhausted looking Gyarados that was waiting patiently on the shore. "You were amazing today Gyarados, take a well-deserved rest!"

The giant blue serpent dissolved in a flash of red light and Misty finally turned to face the younger girl as she clipped the pokeball back onto her belt.

"What is?" she asked curiously.

The pair were standing together on the now peaceful beach and were close enough to the sea for the waves to lap lazily around their feet.

"How good you are at battling!" Dawn replied, her voice full of praise. "I thought I was good but you are so much stronger than me."

Misty's face reddened slightly at the compliment and she tried to deny that there was such a bridge between their abilities but her objections were instantly cut short.

"No Misty, don't try to say otherwise," Dawn said stubbornly. "If you hadn't showed up back there - when I fell off Blastoise - I would have been toast!"

The orange-haired trainer again tried to remark that this wouldn't have been the case but the sound of her name being called caused her to stop.

"Misty? Hey, Misty!"

Both girls looked round at the sound and after glancing at the hundreds of trainers and co-ordinators that still littered the beach they finally caught sight of another girl dashing towards them. They both grinned widely as they recognised the familiar bright red bandana and shoulder length brown hair.

Misty smiled broadly and staggered back a couple of steps as the coordinator wrapped her up in a big hug. "May, it's great to see you!" she chuckled cheerfully through a mouthful of brunette locks.

Disentangling herself May looked at the older girl and allowed a quizzical expression to fall across her features. "What are you doing here?" she asked in a confused but happy voice. "I thought you had to go to Lavender Town and fight Team Galactic with the rest of the Kanto Gym Leaders?"

Misty shook her head quickly and grinned even more. "I did but at the last minute Lance told me that Ash had asked if I could join his unit."

May's smile morphed into a sly smirk. "Oh really? I bet that made you very happy!"

Misty blushed furiously at the insinuation but was saved the awkwardness of replying by Dawn.

"May, where did you go? I thought something had happened to you!" This time it was the blue haired trainer's turn to hug the brunette and she wrapped her friend up in a tight embrace.

May patted Dawn on the back in order to comfort the girl. "I know, I'm sorry. I got caught up in a battle with a couple of grunts and by the time I managed to beat them off you had disappeared," she replied reassuringly.

"Wait, you were in the water as well?" Misty asked the coordinator, surprised due to her friend's lack of water-type Pokemon.

May nodded and after releasing Dawn pointed to her wet clothes to indicate the obvious. "No offence to you Misty but I don't want to go into the sea for a very long time, today was the scariest and most dangerous day of my life."

Surprisingly the redhead nodded in agreement. "I agree," she replied in a quiet voice. "I love the water but today was horrific. I thought that we would be fighting normal pokemon battles with Team Rocket like when they followed Ash around on his journeys. I had no idea it would be so violent!"

Dawn shuddered as the memories of the past few hours resurfaced in her mind. "Can we not talk about it, I'm just glad it is over."

May nodded once more and forced a smile back onto her face. "Lets head up to the Pokemon Centre, I'm sure we'll be needed up there. Besides, Misty has a date with Ash!"

The brunette was already running down the beach as the words registered in Misty's brain. Flushing red once more she yelled a curse at the fleeing coordinator before dashing off in pursuit.

Dawn stared after her two friends with a slightly bemused expression before she placed her damp hat back on her head and, with a sigh, followed the two sets of freshly made footprints in the sand.

* * *

Ash slowly wondered among the hordes of weary trainers and co-ordinators as he tiredly paced down the beach. Exhausted though he was, his spirits couldn't have been higher as he savoured the fresh moments of victory. Despite their exhaustion he was greeted by hundreds of cheerful faces as the members of his Unit caught sight of their League Champion and commander and offered him their congratulations.

Although the battle was over the beach was still a hive of activity. As soon as he had been sure of Team Rocket's surrender he had quickly ordered off a string of commands to deal with the aftermath. Any pokemon or people who were in need of medical attention had been sent straight to the Pokemon Centre. Those that were left were tasked to deal with the grunts.

Ash had immediately given the instruction to strip the grunts of their remaining pokemon while at the same time, had ordered the trainers who were on the cliffs with grass type pokemon down on to the beach. Soon each grunt was tied up with Vine-Whip attacks and being escorted up the cliffs under the watchful guard of numerous trainers and pokemon.

The raven-haired trainer suddenly altered his path to avoid stepping in a dark brown patch in the sand. The stain was an increasingly familiar sight as he progressed further down the coast and one that he was not used to seeing after pokemon battles. He was well aware that many pokemon and humans had been injured today and the dark spatters brought the point home even more. Fortunately his mind was taken off the horrible stain by an all too familiar noise.

"Pikapi!"

Ash just had time to extend his arms as Pikachu came bounding across the sand and launched itself into his torso.

Laughing Ash squeezed the little electric Pokemon tightly. "Haha, it's great to see you too Pikachu!" he said affectionately.

"Ash, there you are!"

Ash looked up and saw the figure of Brock jogging towards him. He had left Pikachu in the breeder's care when he had flown off on Drake's Ditto and wasn't surprised to see the older boy.

"We did it! I can't believe we did it!" Brock gushed happily as he finally caught up with the yellow mouse.

Ash smiled back at his old travelling companion and bent his neck slightly as he allowed Pikachu to climb onto his shoulder. "You should have a little more faith in my plans Brocko!" he retorted cheekily.

Brock grinned at the cocky tone and held his hands out in front of him. "You're right, you right," he said in submission, "I guess I should have learnt not to doubt you by now."

Ash shrugged off the compliment and responded sincerely. "Nah, questioning me is your job. Who else is going to stop me making stupid decisions and getting arrogant."

"I think it is too late for that!" Brock chuckled, "speaking of arrogance, have you seen Gary or Drew?"

The raven-haired trainer shook his head. "No, not since the Hyper Beam plan, though if we listen I imagine we'll hear them."

Sure enough as the pair made their way further along the beach they soon heard the sound of two familiar voices that were clearly audible over the rest of the trainers and coordinators. It was Brock who spotted them first and after pointing them out to Ash they made their way over to the other pair who seemed to be in the midst of a heated debate.

"Dude you should have seen me when I was chasing a Murkrow! The little thing was so annoying, it kept twisting and turning and it almost got away but Aerodactyl managed to get it with an awesome wing attack!"

"What? Just one Pokemon! Mate, you should have seen Roserade take out three Raticates with just one Solarbeam. Your pokemon need to try a little harder!"

"Oh yeah like three Raticates is a tough challenge! Did Roserade manage to overcome a Catapie as well!"

Although it was nice not be on the receiving end of either Gary's or Drew's scathing sarcasm and amusing as the argument was, Ash decided to interrupt the bickering before anymore more pokemon battles could occur.

"Are you two girls quite finished?"

Gary and Drew jumped and looked round at the voice, not having noticed the pair standing before them.

"Ash, there you are!" Gary stated loudly. "I was beginning to think you had fallen into the sea or something?" The chestnut-haired boy grinned cheekily at the comment before giving his best friend a cheerful slap on the back.

"Yeah, we were actually arguing whether you could swim or not," Drew added with a smirk.

Ash cocked an eyebrow at the joke. "Well it's nice to know that you two would come and look for me if I was floating face down in the ocean." He replied bitterly.

"Aww come on Ashy Boy, you know that by now it would have been too late for us to save you so why waste the energy?" Gary retorted with a chuckle.

"Thanks!" Ash commented dryly before changing the subject of the conversation. "What were you two arguing about anyway? Most of the beach could hear you."

Gary and Drew glanced at each other before the latter answered. "Gary was just admitting that I am better at battling than he is and that I defeated many more Team Rocket Pokemon than him."

"You talk such crap Hayden!" Gary replied hotly, whirling around to glare at the coordinator. "I defeated way more pokemon than you!"

"Bollocks! No one can beat my total of fifty-four knock outs!"

As the two boys started to argue once more Brock turned to Ash with an incredulous expression spread across his features. "Are we really going to stand here and listen to this?"

Ash shook his head. "Let's get to the Pokemon Centre, I'm sure we'll be needed there."

With that the pair set off towards the cliffs, closely followed by the sounds of "Fifty-four! That's pathetic; I knocked out Fifty-nine!"

Ash discretely leaned over towards Brock and muttered quietly so that only the breeder could hear him. "Should I tell them that I lost count at seventy three?"

* * *

Ash was shocked by the scene that greeted him at the Pokemon Centre. The last time he had seen the building was in the moments before the battle, when all the trainers and coordinators had been deployed along the coast. Now that the battle was over the small area around the building was packed with thousands of people and pokemon all waiting to be seen by Nurse Joy and her small team of Chanseys.

However, the only sign of any medical action came from Professor Elm who could be seen darting amongst the crowd with a large first aid bag administering treatment to those with minor injuries.

The sound of a whistle caught his attention and the raven-haired trainer looked round to see Officer Jenny directing the trainers who were escorting the captured Team Rocket grunts to a field where hundreds of the prisoners already knelt in the grass.

Even as he stood there, more and more trainers were arriving from the beach making the already cramped space even denser. Some sort of organisation was desperately needed and not for the first time Ash cursed his position of commander; he would have to sort this mess out.

"Guys we need to clear the area so Nurse Joy can work properly!" he shouted loudly.

A few trainers around him heard the call and turned to face their commander but the sound of thousands of conversations and pokemon cries drowned him out.

"Guys we need to clear the area!" he bellowed even louder.

A few more heads turned but still no reaction.

"I think you need to be louder." Drew stated bluntly from behind him.

Ash turned around slowly, his face showing no amusement at the comment. "Really Drew? What makes you say that?" he spat irritably.

Before anyone else could comment Ash felt Pikachu propel itself off of his shoulder and land nimbly on the ground. Taking matters into its own hands the little yellow pokemon's cheeks sparked for a couple of seconds as it charged itself up before unleashing a blinding bolt of electricity directly up into the sky. The entire area flickered and flashed in a dull yellow light and the sound of crackling electric drowned out the noise from the crowd.

Such a powerful attack caught the attention of all the trainers and coordinators and those who were close to the little mouse cautiously backed away. They had all witnessed the little electric type display such power over the past couple of months on TV as Ash battled his way through the Indigo League and everyone knew their commander was among them.

Silence quickly descended and the world seemed to fall still as every eye turned to look at the young Indigo League Champion. Ash was caught off guard by the sudden attention and he was silent for a moment as he considered what to say.

He was aware that he had a large audience and considering all they had just gone through Ash decided that to lecture them on blocking the Pokemon Centre right away was a little unfair. Realising that they were expecting him to speak the raven-haired trainer said the first thing that came to his head.

"WE WON!" he cried loudly, punching his fist into the air.

The response was instant and overwhelming. The crowd roared with him, jumping up and down and waving their hands in the air. Ash beamed at them as he absorbed their praise and let the cheering continue until it naturally died down. When all was quite he spoke once more.

"They thought they would beat us! They thought they would beat us and walk all the way to Kanto and the Indigo Plateau! Well, let this be a message to Team Rocket and all the other organisations that we will not be beaten! We will not lose this war!"

Another round of cheers rose up and Ash was forced to pause as he waited for the noise to subside.

"I know it has been a tough day! For many of you today is an experience you will never want to repeat however, I'm afraid you will be needed again. There are thousands of people across the sea held prisoner in every house, in every town on every island in the Orange Archipelago and it is our duty to liberate them. It will not be quick and it will not be easy but like today, if we stand together and strengthen our bonds of friendship even further, then Team Rocket will not stand a chance."

Ash quickly held up the palm of his hands before the crowd could cheer once more.

"But that is something we can worry about tomorrow. For now, all those trainers and coordinators that do not need to receive _urgent_ medical treatment for them or their pokemon, please head back to the main camp and the tents. I assure you that your pokemon will be treated but we must prioritise cases. There is still much to do but tonight we enjoy our first victory of the war. Tonight we celebrate!"

The thunder of applause and cheers was even greater than before and the entire crowd hailed the successes of the young trainer who seemed to have no limits to what he could achieve.

Ash couldn't help but silently revel in the acclaim. Over the past few days he had heard the occasional muttering around the camp that he was too young, too inexperienced to lead such a large group of people. Now however, he knew that all the doubts and all the criticisms that had been aimed towards him had just been unequivocally answered.

* * *

Misty found herself caught up in the ecstatic mood of all those around her and shouted along with the hundreds of other trainers. She was too far back in the crowd to see the young man she knew so well and the sound of his voice was both music and torture to her ears as she realised that she was the closest she had been to the object of her affections for years.

Turning around to get the attention of May and Dawn, who were also screaming at the top of their voices, she motioned to them to listen to her. They stopped their screeching and bent in towards Misty so they could hear what she had to say.

"Let's find Ash!" she hollered above the din of the crowd.

Both girls nodded and May grinned at the comment, motioning to the redhead for her to lead the way.

Misty turned back around and began to barge a path through the packed bodies in front of her. Despite her slender figure the strength she had gained through countless hours of swimming aloud her to easily move people out of her way.

She was just about to push past a trio of women in their twenties when they stepped neatly apart as if reading her mind. The orange-haired trainer was about to fill the freshly vacated space when she realised why the women had moved out of the way. The entire crowd in front of her had parted to form a small pathway and there, just five meters away, flanked by Brock, Gary and a green haired boy she didn't recognise was none other than Ash Ketchum.

Misty froze, suddenly petrified by the unexpected appearance of her oldest friend. She mentally frowned at her reaction; why was she acting like this? She knew Ash better than almost anyone and she desperately wanted to see him, talk to him, so why was she so nervous. She could feel Dawn and May's hands trying to shove her forward but she simply couldn't move.

Ash had yet to notice the strange redhead currently blocking his path. He was too focused on the hundreds of trainers either side of him trying to give him space but at the same time all vying to catch a glimpse or touch the celebrity that he was. The raven haired trainer was still not accustomed to the fame that had suddenly thrown itself upon him but in his current mood he was more than happy to shake hands or share a joke with the people he passed.

He laughed out loud as he disentangled himself from a group of young women who had loudly, almost painfully, screamed their joy and congratulations in his ears. Stumbling back before Pikachu could shock the high-pitched females, Ash turned to continue towards the Pokemon Centre.

Ash did a triple take has he beheld the sight that confronted him. Standing before him, framed perfectly between the rows of trainers, was one of the most stunning girls he had ever seen.

All movements, all sounds, all emotions fled from his mind as he gazed at the sight before him. Nothing mattered in the world except this beautiful woman standing in front of him and he let his eyes absorb every part of her.

The first thing that hit him was her brilliant red hair that cascaded down past her shoulders and seemed catch the sun's rays before reflecting them with even more intensity. Her skin was a pale cream that gave the appearance of silk however, her cheeks still showed the faintest exertions of the battle and were flushed a soft pink. The clothes she wore were damp and they hugged her perfect figure giving justice to all the curves of her body and accentuating her chest. A pair of shorts did nothing to hide her long slim legs that were just as pale and smooth as the rest of her.

Ash stood utterly transfixed by the spectacle. How had he not seen this beautiful girl before? He was Commander Ash Ketchum, Champion Ash Ketchum, currently the most famous trainer in the world and he knew that nearly everyone in his Unit had been trying to speak to him over the past few days. He was certain that he would have remembered this girl's beautiful face.

A small part of his mind - the sensible part - tried to tell him that standing and gawping like this must make him look like an idiot, but he did not care. He was surrounded by thousands of people, all of whom were looking at him, but at that moment it did not matter what they thought.

All of a sudden he realised that the girl was staring back at him with almost as much as intensity and once his eyes locked onto her striking sea green ones he was certain that he would never be able to tear them away. His heart thudded in his chest and he knew he had never felt anything like this before.

Without warning a new figure managed to force itself into his consciousness as another girl appeared by the side of the first one. She grabbed the shoulder of the orange-haired girl and shook her gently in order to break the spell that had captured the pair.

Ash frowned in annoyance, why couldn't the girl leave the two of them in peace and let him continue the ecstasy he was experiencing. The sensible part of his mind seemed to rise up once again and with a shock he realised that the other girl was none other than May.

All of a sudden he felt himself being pulled back to reality. All movement and noise returned to him in a sudden blitz on his senses but he kept his eyes fixed on the two figures in front of him. His brain quickly registered May and then caught sight of another, blue haired figure just behind her. Dawn.

Finally his eyes fell back to the orange-haired beauty. A seed seemed to burst in his mind and he could almost feel the roots of recognition spread themselves to fill every single thought. Finally the flower blossomed as distant memories came flooding to the front of his mind and reality finally clicked into place.

"Misty?" he whispered faintly.

The sound of her name seemed to yank Misty back to the present and she blinked rapidly as if just waking up. She gazed at the raven haired trainer for a second more before she too gathered her senses.

"Hey Ash," she said simply, her voice just as quiet.

A million thoughts and questions surged through Ash's mind but he couldn't pin a single one down and connect it with his vocal cords. All he could focus on was the feeling of utter confusion that flooded his body as a swarm of emotion rushed through his brain.

He was pleased – no – overjoyed to see his oldest travelling companion, he was certain of that. However, he was shocked at her drastic change in appearance and horrified by the strange feelings that he had felt when he had first laid eyes upon her.

Also there was the question of how she had gotten to Cinnabar Island in the first place and although he wanted to ask, his brain still refused to let him speak.

The dramatic pause was now turning into an awkward silence and not for the first time Ash cursed the inability of his brain to think quickly in such situations. Fortunately Pikachu came to his rescue once again. The little electric pokemon launched itself from his shoulder and threw itself at the woman in front of him.

Misty barely had time to catch the yellow creature but she wrapped her arms tightly around the small mouse and transferred all her happiness through that one hug.

"Pikachupi!"

Misty laughed, "It's great to see you too Pikachu!"

Ash couldn't help but smile at seeing the two together. The sight took his thoughts back to his first few days as a pokemon trainer when it had just been the three of them all struggling to get along with one another. The feeling of nostalgia grew in him until all he wanted was to be alone with his favourite Pokemon and, as he suddenly realised, his favourite friend.

"I hate to break up this crazy moment but I would rather do something else than stand here and watch you two lovebirds try and string sentences together!"

Gary's words cut through his thoughts and Ash flushed a deep shade of red at the suggestion. He spun round in order to confront his oldest friend but also because it hid his crimson cheeks from Misty.

"Shut up Gary!" Ash hissed through gritted teeth.

Gary looked at Ash with an amused expression but made no further comment.

As annoying as the chestnut haired trainer was Ash realised that his friend had a point. The crowd around him had fallen silent and begun to mutter about the peculiar scene unfolding before them. He suddenly remembered how many people were watching him and he swiftly decided that they should go somewhere more private. When he was sure that his face had returned to an acceptable colour Ash turned back around.

Looking nervously at Misty, Ash spoke in a quiet voice. "Uh, lets head to the Pokemon Centre where we can um...talk properly."

"Ok." Misty nodded quickly, trying to hide her own flaming cheeks.

With visible awkwardness Ash side stepped the orange-haired girl, forcing himself not to think of how close he was to her body as he did so. Once that task was accomplished he hurried off towards the Pokemon Centre barely giving the trainers in front of him enough time to move out of his way.

Misty followed at a safe couple of paces behind the raven-haired trainer, leaving Dawn, May, Brock, Gary and Drew all looking after them in astonishment.

"Screw battling Team Rocket, watching that was definitely the most painful thing I have done all day!" Gary said, shaking his head incredulously.

After gazing at the retreating pair Dawn turned to face the remainder of the group, "What the hell just happened?"

Having the most experience in the present topic Brock replied. "Ladies and Gentlemen, may I introduce to you the enigma that is the relationship between Ash Ketchum and Misty Waterflower!"

"What does that mean?" asked Drew.

Brock smiled at the question. "Oh, you will find out. Anyway let's get to the Pokemon Centre ourselves, I don't want to miss this."

With that the group began to follow the path created by the League Champion. As they started to move May hung back and waited for Brock to pass her.

"Looks like you were right," May whispered.

The Breeder raised a sly eyebrow in response and give May crafty look. "You don't know the half of it."

May grinned at the comment. "Do you think she'll tell him?"

Brock had long ago told her about the extent of Ash and Misty's relationship and the suspicions he had.

Brock's smirk faded and was replaced with a serious expression. "May, I think you have more of a chance of becoming Pokemon Master using just a single Magikarp that only knows splash than you do of getting her to do that!"

* * *

From his position in the crowd Paul watched the group of seven disappear between the packed bodies.

His body had filled with a cold fury when Ash had addressed the crowd as if he were some conquering hero and acted as if Team Rocket's defeat was solely because of him. It had sickened him further when the thousands of trainers and coordinators had lapped up his words and cheered him like some sort of saviour.

The indigo haired trainer had fought as hard as he ever had that day and was furious that his actions went ignored. He thought it disgusting that someone such as Ash Ketchum should be praised when better trainers and better people had given just as much effort, if not more.

His temper had cooled however as Ash finished his speech and made his way through the crowd. He had observed the Champion's unexpected meeting with the orange-haired girl with a mixture of contempt and amusement but the encounter had fascinated him none the less.

He wasn't interested in the fact that his rival had finally shown curiosity in a girl; that was bound to happen at some point. However, he had never seen the trainer thrown off guard so easily.

Paul's lips twitched into the hint of a smile and he committed the piece of information to memory in order to be used in the future.

He stayed rooted to the spot as the crowd around him began to disperse, his thoughts a blur as his brain raced. Ash may glory in being the Indigo League Champion and the Commander of the Unit now but Paul would bring him back down to earth. He wasn't sure how, but this orange haired girl might just be the opportunity he was looking for.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Well there you are folks, it's what you've all been be waiting for! Ash and Misty have finally been reunited. I know it has been a long time coming but I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Once again please review, I'd love to hear your thoughts on Ash and Misty's encounter!

**Responses to reviews**

_kawaiighurl018 _- I'm glad you enjoyed the fighting, there is certainly a lot more on the way. However, I hope you also enjoy romance as that is what the next few chapters are about. Thanks for the continued support!

_jezzatko _- Thank you so much for the compliment. It's great to hear that each chapter still impresses.

_Mozilla Fennekin _- Thanks, this is one of the best reviews I've received so far. It is always great to get compliments but getting feedback is so much more useful. I understand the points you're making. Some of my grammar isn't very good and i do realise some scenes aren't exactly crucial, I think a spent too long trying to set up the story.

_Ky111_ - Thanks once again for the review. I'd be really interested to hear your thoughts on Ash and Misty's reunion.

_ThyOtherSide _- Thanks, i know some people find battle scenes boring so it is really encouraging to hear that you enjoyed them. There isn't going to be another battle for a few chapters now but i assure you that lots more action is on the way.

_tennisdesi91 _- Thanks again for another great review. There are many more battles to come so i hope you enjoy those just as much.

_tiarapikachu _- Hell yeah! Misty is awesome, even without Gyarados. I hope this chapter wasn't too sloppy for you. I am a big pokeshipper but i will try and keep the balance right.

_Mia -_ That's what i'm aiming for, original series all the way! Charizard and the other ones for the Charific Valley will make an appearance at some point but I won't say when. I will think about Milotic however, they are only found in the Hoenn region so it might not fit in with the story.

_reminiscent-afterthought _- Thank you once again for a wonderful review. I am sorry about the punctuation, I really need to find someone to help me edit the story. You may talk to the characters as much as you like; I think they would be very interested in what you have to say! With Misty and Gyarados i'm trying to base their relationship on the side series when Misty protects Gyarados from the Tentacruel thus creating a strong protective relationship. I hope you enjoy this chapter just as much and i look forward to hearing your thoughts once more.

_Lizzie_ - Thanks for the review, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

_ili777_ - WOW, i think that is the most generous review I have received so a massive thank you! I do have some surprises planned so I hope they won't be as predictable. I hope you enjoyed Ash and Misty's reunion, i know there wasn't any arguing but that will happen soon enough. I do plan to have some contestshipping in it as well so don't worry about that however, I can't promise that there will be a happy ending!


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